The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Rs. 253-cr. drinking water scheme for dalit colonies

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 15, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Rs. 253-cr. drinking water scheme for dalit colonies

Special Correspondent

Unsavoury incidents at Ambedkar Jayanti celebrations

HYDERABAD: The Chief Minister, Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, here on Thursday announced a Rs. 253-crore scheme, Ambedkar Jeevan Dhara, to provide drinking water to all the 21,407 uncovered dalitwadas.

He was speaking at the Government-sponsored State-level celebrations to mark the 115th birth anniversary of Babasaheb Ambedkar, an event that was marred by unsavoury incidents. Activists of Mala and Magida castes crossed swords over the scheduled caste categorisation issue. The police, who were deployed in large numbers, lathi-charged the Madiga agitators twice when they gate-crashed into the enclosure around the statue, tore off a banner held by members of the other community and ransacked furniture on the dais. Madiga agitators cheered the Telugu Desam president, N. Chandrababu Naidu, when he garlanded a portrait of Ambedkar placed in the enclosure but shouted slogans against the Chief Minister when he offered floral tributes at the statue later.

Turning restive, activists from both sides gathered on either side of the statue and raised slogans as Dr. Reddy addressed them, with Malas opposing categorisation and the Madiga youth supporting it. Dr Reddy, however, avoided any mention of the controversy and, instead, explained the scheme funded by Nabard.

He said that Ambedkar Jeevan Dhara would provide "sustainable drinking water source" to 9,812 dalitwadas, the population of which was more than 250 each, to start with. The rest of the 11,595 dalitwadas whose population was below 250 would be covered in two years. There were 32,520 SC habitations in the State but most of them had already been covered either by schemes or extended pipelines from existing sources. He spoke of a plan to provide housing and power supply to all dalitwadas.

The Governor, S. K. Shinde, was one of the earliest VIPs to garland the statue while there was electrifying effect when the balladeer, Gaddar, followed suit. A festive atmosphere prevailed with dalits from different places reaching the spot in processions amid dancing and drum-beating.

Several Ministers, MPs and MLAs, whose names figured in the official invitation, abstained from the function. For the first time, scheduled tribes leaders such as Bella Nayak of "Tudum Debba" took part in the celebrations.

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