Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada   

No auction, but sarpanch aspirants make same promise

G. Ravikiran

Old, narrow footbridge takes centre stage at Ramavarappadu

LIFE IN NARROW LANE: Residents of some colonies face travails to cross the Ryves Canal and reach Ramavarappadu on National Highway-5 in Vijayawada. - Photo: Ch. Vijaya Bhaskar

VIJAYAWADA: The old and narrow footbridge at Ramavarappadu on the bustling outskirts of the city stands witness to the feverish pitch that `village politics' can be capable of reaching. Local people have a long-cherished wish of having a wide bridge there to connect localities of poor residents on the northern side of the Ryves Canal and also to facilitate a better access to the railway station there.

The run-up to sarpanch election witnessed the unfolding of a new drama and the villagers appeared to have had many a proverbial miss between the cup and the lip.

Auction effort

It all began with the notification of the village panchayat elections when too many aspirants for the post of sarpanch came to the fore making lots of promises. Seeing the new mood, some former sarpanches and elders formed into a committee and conducted a meeting and decided to auction the post. As the panchayat office is located on the National Highway 5, the move to auction the sarpanch post drew wide attention. They got the auction proposal announced through a public address system in the village and its surroundings, which account for nearly 20,000 people.

Quite a good number of aspirants participated in the auction, even as the outgoing sarpanch Vanguru Siva Satyanarayana had to ensure his presence with the meeting assuming a lot of significance. Bidders quoted high amounts with two aspirants offering Rs. 30 lakhs and Rs. 35 lakhs respectively. The open move, however, caught the attention of the authorities and the State Election Commission (SEC) had notices issued to the `so-called elders'. They were warned of a jail term of up to six years, if they were found guilty of organising the auction.

Mallemudi Kotaiah Naidu, a resident of Ramavarappadu, expressed doubts over the genuineness of the politicians concerned. "If they are really interested, they would not have raised so much dust. Politicians do not want the bridge. They acted cleverly to damage any prospect of getting the bridge," he added. Like him, most others using the footbridge on a daily basis would curse the politician only. Mande Venkateswara Rao, a vendor of soft drinks at the foot of the bridge, said for 30 to 40 years, the bridge would not take proper shape. "The turn of events now indicates that there is no chance at all," he lamented.

After the notices, the buzz over the auction stopped all of a sudden, even as the village witnessed a flurry of activity on Monday with aspirants filing their nominations.

What was illegal in the auction mode seemed to have a shade of legality in the form of election promises. Outgoing president Sivasatyanarayana, who filed his nomination, asserted that he would donate Rs. 25 lakhs from his personal funds to get the bridge constructed. He said that Kankipadu MLA Devineni Rajasekhar (Nehru) assured him that the latter would mobilise the remaining money and see that Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy would lay the foundation stone in two months.

Pattapu Rajeswara Rao, a sympathiser of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), said that he almost snatched the deal at the auction by offering Rs. 35 lakhs. It was the conspiracy of some vested interests that marred "my prospects," Mr. Rao said and added that his campaign would be to pledge the money for the cause of constructing the bridge. "People have seen through the designs of former sarpanches. I stand better chances," he added.

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