Amaravati, March 9 Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader Nara Lokesh on Thursday promised that if the party returns to power in Andhra Pradesh, all pending irrigation projects in Rayalaseema will be completed.
Interacting with people during ongoing padyatra Yuva Galam in Madanapalle, he alleged that Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy is more interested in looting the state than development, particularly the Rayalaseema region.
The farmers from Chinna Tippasamudram and Kothavaripalli met Lokesh at the Pulavandlapalli campsite and told him that they are facing several problems due to non-availability of water for irrigation. If the Chinna Tippasamudram pond is linked with Handri Neeva project, they will get sufficient water for irrigation which will solve all their problems.
The pond is spread over 500 acres which can supply irrigation water for over 1,000 acres, they said. If the pond is linked to Handri Neeva, they can cultivate two crops in a year and this will solve all their issues, the farmers told Lokesh and made an appeal to him to take up the works once the TDP is into power again.
Responding to the farmers, Lokesh said that Jagan Mohan Reddy is interested only in minting money by looting the state. Observing that 80 per cent of the works of Handri Neeva were completed during Chandrababu Naidu regime, he said Jagan Mohan Reddy did not bother to complete the remaining 20 per cent work.
"This clearly indicates that he is not interested in the farmers welfare. I am assuring you that when we are back into government, which is not far, all the pending projects will be completed, including the Handri Neeva project. Also, the pond of Chinna Tippasamudram too will be linked with the Handri Neeva," Lokesh told the farmers.
Earlier, representatives of the Chittoor district Brahmin Seva Samakhya met Lokesh and told him that this government has scrapped all the welfare schemes for Brahmins. They appealed to Lokesh to revive all the schemes when the TDP government is formed again.
At Poolavandlapalli, local Valmiki Boya community leaders had a meeting with Lokesh. They appealed to Lokesh to see to it that Valmiki Boya community is included in the Scheduled Tribes (ST).
Maintaining that it is the TDP that encouraged the Valmiki community politically and provided several positions both in the party and in the government as well, Lokesh said that justice will be done to them when the TDP forms the government again.
At Yenumuvaripalli of Madanapalle Assembly segment, handloom workers met Lokesh and wanted identity cards be issued to them which this government stopped.
Lokesh promised to revive the issuance of the identity cards to all the handloom weavers and also will lift GST on handloom products.
Later, minorities representatives met the TDP General Secretary and complained to him that interest-free loans are not being extended to them. He promised to revive the scheme besides setting up an Islamic bank. Industrial clusters will be established in all the Assembly segments in the State to provide employment to the minorities youth, Lokesh added.
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