ANOTHER `PRESSURE' GROUP?: NDMA member M. Shashidhar Reddy at a meeting in Hyderabad on Sunday. Asaduddin Owaisi, P. Janardhan Reddy and others are also seen. — Photo: Mohd. Yousuf

HYDERABAD: Led by Congress legislator and National Disaster Management Authority member M. Shashidhar Reddy, legislators and MPs from the City, cutting across party lines, floated the Hyderabad MLAs and MPs Forum to work for the overall development of the twin cities. Mr. Reddy is the convener of the Forum.

"This is an apolitical body and not a pressure group against Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy. Our focus is the development of the city looking at its larger perspective," he maintained at a press conference dismissing the argument that members of the ruling party floating such a forum amounted to anti-party activity.

Five abstentions

Eight of the13 MLAs from the city attended the meeting. Of the four Congress legislators, only Mr. Sashidhar Reddy and former CLP leader P. Janardhan Reddy were present. Two other party MLAs - M.Mukesh and Malreddy Ranga Reddy - besides Rajya Sabha member V. Hanumantha Rao, Secunderabad MP Anjan Kumar Yadav and Siddipet MP Sarvey Satyanarayana stayed away.

He said the District Development Review Committee and Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad meetings seldom go beyond local issues. Larger issues, which had an impact on the City's future, never figure in these meetings. "Moreover, many decisions are taken with MLAs and MPs having no inkling about them. Hence the need for a forum to enable us take up various issues with experts and make suggestions to the Government," he explained.

Mr. Reddy insisted that the forum did not want Hyderabad to go the Bangalore, Chennai and Mumbai way where infrastructural facilities had collapsed in the face of unprecedented development.

"The IT industry has even threatened to leave Bangalore and a similar situation will arise here too if we do not act now.

The perennial water shortage and growing traffic problems are bound to have a detrimental effect on the future of the city," he pointed out. Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, G. Kishen Reddy (BJP), Nayini Narasimha Reddy and T. Padma Rao (TRS), Afsar Khan (MIM) and G. Sayanna (TDP) attended the meeting along with irrigation and environment experts Naram Krishna Rao, Capt. Rama Rao, Vidyasagar Rao and Dharma Rao.

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