Minister Vivek Faces Ire of Women Over Sops

Adilabad: Some local women on Monday questioned labour and mining minister Gaddam Vivek during his visit to several colonies in Chennur Municipality, alleging that welfare schemes were not reaching eligible beneficiaries in Mancherial district.

The women claimed that their lands had been taken over for the construction of an Advanced Technology Centre building. Responding to the allegations, Mancherial district collector, Kumar Deepak, said the land in question belonged to the government and had been encroached upon, with illegal pattas allegedly obtained.

The women said they had applied for welfare schemes long ago but were yet to receive any benefits. They urged the minister to ensure that welfare and development schemes were sanctioned without further delay.

Meanwhile, a Congress preparatory meeting for the upcoming municipal elections at Kyathanpalli witnessed furore, with some party leaders alleging that senior Congress leaders were being sidelined in favour of newly joined members while finalising candidates. The meeting was chaired by Minister Jupally Krishna Rao.

Tensions escalated when a Congress leader reportedly argued with District Congress Committee (DCC) president Raghunath Reddy over allegations of manhandling a Dalit Congress leader, Kalyan. Some Dalit party workers accused the DCC president of neglecting senior Dalit leaders. The internal differences came to the fore during the meeting, prompting the minister to leave midway to attend other scheduled programmes in Komaram Bheem Asifabad district.