Telangana’s Dalit Bandhu changes former naxal’s life, makes him employer supporting four families

Once lived underground for nearly 15 years in Dandakaranya carrying firearms, Rayala Venkateshwarlu, is now putting his culinary skills to cook tasty dishes for his customers

Kothagudem: The Telangana government’s ambitious Dalit Bandhu scheme has not only transformed the life of a former naxal but also made him an employer supporting four families by offering employment to four persons.

Once lived underground for nearly 15 years in Dandakaranya carrying firearms, Rayala Venkateshwarlu, is now putting his culinary skills to cook tasty dishes for his customers at Rayal Dhaba and Fast Food Centre at Laxmipuram in Burgampad mandal in the district.

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He established the dhaba and fast food centre with the Rs 10 lakh capital assistance given to him under Dalit Bandhu in the first phase of the scheme’s implementation with the initiative of Pinapaka MLA Rega Kantha Rao.

Speaking to Telangana Today, Venkateshwarlu, who hails from Morampalli Banjar in the mandal, informed that Dalit Bandhu scheme has financially stabilised his life as he is now earning Rs 40,000 per month to support his family.

Giving details of his past life he said he had joined CPI ML (Praja Pandha) naxal group when he was studying SSC in 1993. He led his own Sureshanna dalam, which had different aliases, moving around Yellandu, Manugur, Paloncha and Narsampet areas.

In 2002 he married a Left wing activist Jyothi and surrendered to police in 2005 to join the mainstream of life, again went underground in 2015 and got arrested in 2018. Because of his zeal for education he completed his unfinished SSC and studied intermediate through open school besides earning a BA degree from BR Ambedkar Open University.

For sometime Venkateshwarlu served as a supervisor and shift in-charge in a private company at Laxmipuram. He quit the job and served as a reporter for Namasthe Telangana daily in 2013 when Telangana statehood movement was at its peak.

He met with a road accident in 2017 and was confined to home. He started a fancy shop to support his family but the earnings were meagre. “Our financial condition is better now compared to the past and I was able to see my elder daughter get married,” Venkateshwarlu noted.

He informed that as the naxal group commander he had learnt cooking and that skill has now come handy in running the dhaba. His wife Jyothi also lends support in running the eatery and recently he expanded the eatery. He hired two cooking masters and two workers.

“Dalit Bandhu truly is a great scheme as it is changing lives of thousands of dalits across the State making them financially strong. I thank Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao for introducing the scheme and MLA Kantha Rao for supporting me” Venkateshwarlu added.