Reconstruction of Telangana a reply to detractors, says CM KCR
Even the Planning Commission of India had declared all districts except Hyderabad as backward districts and people started asking how Telangana would develop without water and power, he said.
Hyderabad: Calling the brand new majestic building of the Dr BR Ambedkar Telangana State Secretariat as the pride of Telangana, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao said the overwhelming development the State had achieved in the last nine years was a fitting reply to those who opposed the formation of the State.
Speaking after inaugurating the new Secretariat, the Chief Minister said the growth and development the State has witnessed was the symbol of the ‘reconstruction’ of Telangana. During the Telangana Statehood movement, people had raised apprehensions over the future of the State and even predicted that there would be backwardness and darkness if a separate State was formed. Even the Planning Commission of India had declared all districts except Hyderabad as backward and people were asking how Telangana would develop without water and power.
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“People used to ask us. What does ‘Telangana reconstruction’ mean? Are you going to demolish the entire Telangana and reconstruct it? Today they have got the answer,” he said.
Stating that time had come to reply to all the ‘political dwarfs’ who did not understand the concept of ‘Telangana Reconstruction’, the Chief Minister said reconstruction meant the rejuvenation of all the Kakatiya era water bodies, ponds and lakes in the State. “Today, even during summer, lakes and ponds in Telangana are full. This is Telangana reconstruction,” he said.
Pointing out that in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, there used to be little water in river Godavari even to perform rituals, the Chief Minister said he had to travel all the way up to Ramagundam to drop copper and one rupee coins in the river while offering prayers. “I prayed to the Godavari Talli asking her when she would arrive in Telangana and quench the thirst of people,” he said, pointing out that now, the State had constructed the world largest lift irrigation project in the form of Kaleshwaram apart from several check dams across multiple rivers.
“As a result, reservoirs and check dams across the State are full to the brim even during peak summer. This is called reconstruction of Telangana. The lakhs of acres of irrigated lands in the State are the symbol of the ‘reconstruction’ of Telangana, he said, adding that the State had reached a stage wherein it had overtaken other States in agriculture.
“Paddy was cultivated during Yasangi season in the country in 94 lakh acres, out of which 56 lakh acres were in Telangana alone. This green revolution is also ‘Telangana Reconstruction’,” he said, adding that Kaleshwaram, Palamuru-Rangareddy and Sita Rama projects too were the symbols of this reconstruction.
There was a time when there was shortage of power in the State and industrialists used to protest for power supply, he said, adding that even farmers used to get electrocuted and die due to snake bites as there was no fixed time for power supply. Today the situation has changed and the State has become power surplus. This, he asserted, was Telangana Reconstruction.
Calling the reverse migration of people to Telangana and labourers from other States working in fields here too as reconstruction of the State, Chandrashekhar Rao also listed Mission Bhagiratha, the decentralization of administration with new Collectorates for effective functioning and Hyderabad surpassing Bengaluru in the field of information technology too as ‘reconstruction’ of Telangana.
The Chief Minister also mentioned the law and order situation in Telangana, the feeling of safety and security among women here with She Teams working to keep them safe, and the evolution of the Telangana State Police as the country’s best force among symbols of Telangana’s reconstruction.
The growth of towns and villages and that of Hyderabad on par with international standards with the construction of flyovers and underpasses too was the reconstruction of Telangana. The giant statue of Dr BR Ambedkar adjacent to the State Secretariat would always inspire the officials to discharge their duties to fulfill the aspirations of the people, he said.
Super specialty government hospitals in four corners of Hyderabad, the Yadadri Temple that was reconstructed in just eight years, the stunning growth of the State’s per capita income and per capita power consumption too found mention, as Chandrashekhar Rao went on to term the new secretariat building as a symbol of the pride of Telangana. Asserting that the State was following the path shown by Babasaheb Ambedkar, he said Ambedkar’s message for the development of all sections was a big inspiration to the State government.
Citing the contributions of several officials, right from former DGPs Anurag Sharma, M Mahender Reddy to current DGP Anjani Kumar, former Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar and his successor A Santhi Kumari, Finance Secretary K Ramakrishna Rao and the Secretariat’s architects, Ponni and Oscar Concessao, to mention a few, the Chief Minister thanked those who played crucial roles in the State’s progress so far, apart from specially mentioning the migrant workers and labourers who constructed the new Secretariat.
