Wednesday, Nov 26, 2003
Wednesday, Nov 26, 2003 |
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Andhra Pradesh
By Our Staff Reporter
Addressing a meeting at Palukur near Bethamcharla in Kurnool district on Tuesday, Mr. Naidu, who took part in Chaduvula Panduga programme, said agriculture, on which the entire rural economy depended, would develop only when the cost of cultivation was reduced and productivity increased. Mr. Naidu saw vast scope for Raithu mitra groups saying they could establish a better network than that of self-help groups. On the irrigation issues, the Chief Minister said water was not available in the Krishna basin but 3,000 tmcft of Godavari water was flowing waste into the sea. If the river was harnessed by constructing the Polavaram and Ichampalli projects, a large area could be provided assured irrigation besides diverting 100 tmcft to Krishna basin. The water saved at the tail-end of the Krishna river could be transferred to upper reaches like Rayalaseema and Telengana. Mr. Naidu said Kurnool district was given priority on irrigation front by spending Rs 2,000 crores on SRBC, Telugu Ganga and KC canal. After Kurnool district, Karimnagar utilised the lion's share of irrigation budget in the State. Turning his attention to opposition parties, Mr. Naidu asked people not to give credence to the empty promises of the Congress party, who offered free power to the agriculture sector. On the extremist problem, Mr. Naidu said their stand was a great threat to the democratic system in the country. He found fault with the Congress party which, according to him, was planning to make gains by hobnobbing with extremists. He called upon people to teach such parties a lesson. The Ministers, B. V. Mohan Reddy, N. Md. Farooq and K.E. Prabhakar, the former MLAs, B. Pardhasaradhi Reddy and Sobha Nagireddy, were present. Mr. Naidu said it was the responsibility of parents to to give education to their children at right age. Interacting with unenrolled children at Palukur, the Chief Minister was moved by the plight of many children that they were forced to slog in stone quarries because of addiction of their fathers to liquor. The families barely survived on the income from children and women while men spent their earnings on liquor. A child worker, Venkata Ramana told the Chief Minister that his father boozed heavily on week-ends after receiving weekly payment leaving nothing for the family. Mr. Naidu said poverty should not become the hindrance to education of children but irresponsibility of parents was also the main reason. The Chief Minister warned the quarry owners of stringent punishment if they employed children. The Chief Minister was impressed by the sheer grit of two girls who ran away from their homes in Uyyalawada and Uppalapadu to join the child labour school, Bhavita at Orvakal. In four to five years, they passed SSC and joined the Intermediate course.
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