Bhatti: Elect Congress For Growth of Urban Areas

After leading a rally in Madhira Municipality, he addressed a public meeting as part of the election campaign. He said the Congress government was working with a clear commitment towards the welfare of all sections and urged urban voters to extend their support in the municipal polls to strengthen development initiatives.

Referring to women-centric policies, he said the government was extending interest-free loans to women Self Help Groups with the objective of treating women as “Mahalakshmis”. He recalled that while the announcement to provide ₹20,000 crore annually as interest-free loans was initially doubted, the government had already disbursed ₹27,000 crore, demonstrating its commitment.

He said women’s self-help groups in urban areas would be trained through MEPMA and supported to establish enterprises by facilitating bank loans.

Recalling his People’s March padayatra ahead of the elections, Bhatti Vikramarka said many people had highlighted their housing needs. He said the Congress government, after assuming office, launched the first phase of construction of 4.5 lakh Indiramma houses at a cost of ₹5 lakh per unit, allocating ₹22,500 crore for the scheme.

He alleged that the previous BRS government had not issued new ration cards or permitted inclusion of new family members for 10 years, while the Congress government issued new ration cards soon after coming to power.

Listing welfare measures, he said schemes such as free power up to 200 units for domestic consumers, supply of fine rice through ration cards, LPG cylinders at ₹500, and free bus travel for women in TGSRTC buses had helped families save money, enabling higher spending on education, healthcare and nutrition.

He said free medical treatment up to ₹10 lakh was being provided under Rajiv Aarogyasri in case of health emergencies. He added that developing Madhira Municipality into a model town with improved medical and educational facilities on par with Hyderabad was his responsibility and long-term objective.