THE Left parties, CPI(M) and CPI, have jointly embarked on a 14 day-long ‘Rayalaseema Bus Yatra’ to focus on the issues of backward region and with a demand that a comprehensive package of Rs1,000 crore be announced for the development of Rayalaseema districts.

The ‘Rayalaseema Bus Yatra’ was formally flagged off from Tirupati on February 20 by Prakash Karat, Polit Bureau member of the CPI(M) and CPI National Secretariat member K Narayana .

The yatra continues  up to March 5, during which period the Left party leaders plan to visit the nook and corner of the region.

Addressing a public meeting at MCT Circle, Prakash Karat attributed the backwardness of the region to continued neglect by successive governments at the centre and in the state. He demanded that the special category status for Andhra Pradesh and special package for Rayalaseema be sanctioned as promised in the AP Reorganisation Act. Karat flayed chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu for overtly favouring the corporate sector.

K Narayana advised the government to look beyond the capital region. He observed  that if required funds are allocated, the Galeru-Nagari and Handri-Neeva projects will help irrigate cultivable lands in the region.

In Chittoor district, the campaign focused on various burning issues including the cancellation of the works of Kandaleru (Chittoor district) water supply scheme, allocation of required funds for the completion of pending projects in the district and also to press for the allocation of ten percent of TTD budget for providing drinking water in the district.

In Kadapa district, people from various walks of life expressed solidarity to the bus yatra. MA Gaffoor, Central Committee member of the CPI(M) expressed the anguish of people over the  government’s willful neglect of industrialization of Kadapa district. Though it is explicitly mentioned in the AP Reorganisation Act that a steel factory would be established at Kadapa, the TDP-BJP governments in the state and centre are not taking any initiative towards that direction, he lamented. He demanded the government to allocate Rs 3,000 crores to Galeru-Nagari and Rs 5,000 crores to Handri-Neeva projects so as to uplift the Rayalaseema districts from backwardness. Obulesu, AP state secretariat member of CPI questioned the Chandrababu Naidu government for its nonchalance in optimum utilisation of mineral resources like limestone, iron ore, uranium, diamond, dolomite for the overall development of Rayalaseema.

The bus yatra evoked good response from the people and the demands focused in the yatra came for wide discussion amongst people. Bike rally was taken out by youth in Kadapa in support of the yatra and it attracted wide attention of the people.

The bus yatra after covering the four districts in the region will culminate on March 5 with a massive public meeting in Kurnool in which national leaders of Left parties Sitaram Yechury and Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy will participate