Fake Statistics Are More Important To Chandrababu Than Lives Of People
Vizianagaram Moida Junction: My Padayatra proceeded through Nellimarla constituency today. Bhogapuram, the centre of a big land scam in the name of an airport, is located here. The Union Civil Aviation minister at the Centre during that period was from here and he came in handy as a tool of exploitation for the TDP supremo.
The lands of their ministers, ruling party MPs and proxies, were spared while those of the poor farmers were snatched away ruthlessly. Nellimarla is the only place along the coastline in this part of the state. I was filled with a heavy heart when I listened to the problems of the local fishermen. Chemical factories nearby were dumping their industrial waste into the sea without any curb or processing. This was resulting in great damage to the marine life, they said. The fishermen were now being denied of their means of livelihood, they complained. These poor people from the fishing community, who knew nothing else to earn a living, were now forced to go to other states in search of a livelihood.
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What are the authorities who are supposed to regulate these industries doing? What are the rulers who are supposed to protect the interests of the common people doing? Indifference and greed are the only two reasons for this pathetic state of affairs. The chief minister himself, had assured people here that houses which can withstand storms, would be built for victims of the Hud Hud cyclone, especially those in the fishing villages by the coastline.
The technologically savvy chief minister of our state who claims to have controlled and checked the damage caused by the Hud Hud cyclone should have a look at these villages for a bitter taste of his own promises.
The plight of police personnel I see along the Padayatra pains me. I came to know that they do not have a single day off in the entire year. They too have families, don’t they? It is only fair to give them a day’s break. Villagers from Jarajapupeta, mainly jute mill workers, daily wage workers and people drawn from the poorest sections of society, met me in large numbers this morning and requested me to retain the village as a Panchayat. They did not want it to become a part of the local municipality. They said that while they had very little to gain from such upgradation, cost of living would go up drastically.
Water tax, property tax and all other taxes, including those for vacant plots, would make life difficult for them they said. Even for small houses which the poor try to build for themselves, they would have to pay heavy fees, they complained. Turning it into a municipality had deprived them of their livelihood, they lamented. The special officer who was entrusted the task of overseeing the problems with respect to the municipality was indifferent to the plight of the villagers, they said.
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While the Nellimarla public meeting was on, a pregnant woman traveling in an auto was stuck in the crowd. I was moved by the plight of the woman who should have been travelling in a 108 ambulance. I stopped my address to request the large gathering to make way for the auto which they immediately did, showing their compassion and sense of humanity.
I have a question for the chief minister—Is it not true that a third of the ambulances in 108 in the state are dysfunctional today? Is it not a fact that the few which are running do not have oxygen and essential medicines? Is it not deception on your part to claim on your official dashboard that 95% of the ambulance vehicles are in good shape and are serving the people? Is it more important for you to indulge in false propaganda and use fake statistics than protect the lives of the poor?
