Karimnagar Dumping Yard Issue Takes Political Colour
Bandi Sanjay defends funds for remediation as BRS challenges allegations; residents demand a permanent solution.
Karimnagar: The Karimnagar dumping yard issue has taken a political colour with the leaders of various political parties blaming each other.
Union Minister of State for Home, Bandi Sanjay Kumar, made harsh comments against the BRS on Monday while participating in various developmental programmes along with Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar in Karimnagar.
He said that the BRS, during its 10-year rule, failed to find a solution to the dumping yard problem. “We took the initiative to solve the issue by sanctioning Rs 17 crore under the AMRUT scheme and Rs 80 crore under UCF.”
However, though the tendering process was started, opposition leaders were trying to stall the process by creating an unnecessary controversy. The contractor had also been threatened, Sanjay Kumar said
Reacting to the Union minister’s comments, BRS corporator and former mayor S Ravinder Singh challenged Sanjay Kumar and Prabhakar to probe the issue by registering a case if they had evidence.
“Unable to solve the dumping yard problem, both BJP and Congress are trying to blame the BRS. But BRS never prevented any developmental works,” Ravinder Singh said.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, resident L Shankar of the housing board colony said the dumping yard issue has become a hot subject for political leaders to blame each other and gain political mileage.
Though the people of the surrounding areas were suffering with the dumping yard problem for many years, no leader or political party came forward and facilitated a permanent solution to the problem, he noted.
Another resident, N Sathish of Kattrampur, opined that there was no use with bio-mining that was proposed to start with a fund component of `17 crore. Shifting the dumping yard from the present locality was the only solution to the problem, he stressed.
The transport minister, however, made it clear that irrespective of opposition, a shifting of the dumping yard was inevitable.
Notably, the state government had proposed to shift Karimnagar dumping yard to Sirsapalli-Rangapur in Huzurabad mandal.
People of Huzurabad town as well as its surrounding villages staged protests over this issue under the aegis of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) in April this year. Besides extending support to JAC, political parties had also staged protest demonstrations.
While Bandi Sanjay Kumar extended his support to the JAC protest, Huzurabad MLA Padi Kaoushik Reddy observed a 24-hour deeksha opposing the dumping yard.
In view of the resistance from the local people, the state government stalled the process. However, the transport minister’s latest comments make it clear that the government is determined to shift the dumping yard.
