VIJAYAWADA: Several speakers who took part in the seminar organised by the Institute of Development of Andhra Region (IDAR) here on Sunday stressed the need for a people's movement to achieve separate Andhra State.

Representatives from various coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema districts participated in the discussion. Kamineni Pattabhiramaiah, president of IDAR, said:

Coastal Andhra districts like Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Prakasam are more backward than some of the backward Telangana districts. All political parties failed to develop these districts for decades together.

Sidelined

Former MLA Adusumilli Jayaprakash said: "People from Andhra played a crucial role in the development of Hyderabad. While people from Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat, who had set up their businesses, are treated with respect, Andhra-bashers are branding us as cheats and traitors. Even in the Assembly, leaders from Andhra are sidelined. Floor leaders of many political parties are from Telangana."

Retired lecturer Parthasarathy said that the wholehearted participation was essential for the success of any movement. "It is a fact that the separate Telangana movement launched by TRS chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao is not having the backing of people. The movement is launched for the survival of a couple of politicians," he alleged.

Politicians blamed

Former Andhra Sena general secretary A.V.L. Narasimha Rao, who led the Jai Andhra movement during the early `70s, said the region was rich in human resources, water resources and natural gas. "Unfortunately the oil generated from Krishna-Godavari basin is transported to other States," he alleged and charged the politicians with tactfully diluting the movement for their personal gains.

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