Scores of trees cut down for CM Revanth’s Khammam meeting

Heavy rains and waterlogging forced the postponement of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy's Rythu Ashirwada Sabha in Khammam. The event has also triggered criticism from environmentalists and opposition leaders over the felling of trees and damage to agricultural land.

Khammam: The Congress government has allegedly caused serious environmental damage by cutting down scores of trees in Chintakani mandal in the district for Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy‘s ‘Rythu Ashirwada Sabha’, which has now been postponed.

The meeting was scheduled to be held on June 30 at Jagannathapuram village in the Madhira Assembly constituency, with two lakh people expected to attend, during which Rythu Bharosa funds were to be released into the accounts of farmers in the State.

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However, heavy rains accompanied by strong winds on Sunday evening damaged many stalls set up for a ‘Rythu Mela’ alongside the meeting and turned the venue muddy with severe waterlogging.

Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka, who visited the site on Monday, stated that the meeting had been postponed in view of the weather conditions. The Chief Minister would commence the release of Rythu Bharosa funds on Tuesday at Shilpakala Vedika in Hyderabad.

A meeting to celebrate the release of Rythu Bharosa funds would be held on July 6, 7 or 8 after the distribution process is completed. The Chief Minister and the Cabinet would take a final decision based on weather department reports once the rains subside, he noted.

Meanwhile, environmentalists have expressed serious concerns over the cutting down of a large number of trees on either side of the Khammam-Vijayawada highway for the Chief Minister’s meeting. Trees that were nearly 30 years old were cut down for a one-day event.

In addition, nearly 180 acres of agricultural land was damaged to prepare the ground for the meeting, much to the chagrin of farmers in the village. The farmers remained silent in view of pressure from the ruling party leaders.

It was improper for the State government, which conducts large-scale campaigns every year to encourage the planting and preservation of trees, to fell massive, decades-old trees using machinery to make way for the Chief Minister’s meeting, complained BRS leader Bommera Rammurthy.