Youths beer binge turns fatal

The number of road accidents in old Adilabad district has increased in the summer, as the motorists take to the road after drinking chilled beer.

This has been the cause of a number of accidents that have recently taken place in the Adilabad, Mancherial and Nirmal districts.

Beers sales have increased over the past 15 days, to match the increase in temperatures. In old Adilabad district, people have been experiencing temperatures as high as 46 degree Celsius.

A majority of the road accidents have taken places in the broad daylight, after the consumption of alcohol by young drivers.

In a number of cases, inebriated youngsters have been found riding bikes on NH-44. Two youths died and two others were seriously injured in a road accident that took place Mankuguda in Bheempur mandal of Adilabad district on May 15. The boys had come to Markaguda village attend a marriage.

At the time of the accident, they were on their way to a liquor shop in Bheempur mandal headquarters, buy cold beers to beat the heat. It is learnt that already they had already consumed some alcohol, and this was their second trip to the liquor shop.

In their drunken condition, they hit the RTC bus coming in the opposite direction. 

It has become common practice for the youth to drink chilled beers to keep cool in the intolerable heat. After drinking they often ride bikes without even wearing a helmet.

Nearly seven youngsters have died over the past 15 days, in the daytime in the old Adilabad district.

B. Venkatesh of Adilabad town says that these accidents have been caused by the negligence of people who drive in an inebriated condition. “Youth who have consumed alcohol should not come onto the roads with their bikes”, he says.

Officials sceptical over districts before Dasara

Top district officials are sceptical about the creation of new districts by the state government in next three months.

The officials strongly believe that creation of new districts not an easy task and it needs a lot of procedure and time.

It is said that new districts may not be announced on Dasara festival. Top officials feel that state government is trying to generate revenue through land registrations by creating hype on new districts as it is facing a shortage of funds. 

A senior district officer said they too were in a state of confusion over creating new districts and just simply following the instructions from state government without going to rationality behind creating some new districts.  

Adilabad Zilla Parirakshana Committee feels that state government is deliberately creating real estate boom in the name of creating new districts and serving the interests of the few political leaders and some communities.

Land transactions are high these days in Nirmal and Mancherial to be created as new districts. Land prices also increased many folds in and around Nirmal town since news floated that Nirmal is under consideration of the state government for a new district. 

Land prices raised many folds in and around the Mancherial since the state government has announced that Mancherial will be created as a new district.

Top officials are saying that state government is doing a futile exercise by announcing few places as new district though there was no demand for such thing. Adivasis are not happy with the way the state government is creating the new districts without conducting a scientific survey.

People of Adilabad districts had many doubts on the demand for Nirmal district that came up suddenly without anybody’s demand and political leaders who lobbied for the Nirmal district when there was no such demand from the local public. Adivasi leaders are now questioning the logic behind creating Nirmal district while rejecting the Tribal district.

The creation of Nirmal and Mancherial has raised many issues including persons owned lands in and around these towns, control over the real estate business and communities benefiting more out of creating these two districts.

Questions are also raised what is need of creating new districts with just 50 km radius in the wake of improved road connectivity, communication technology and government talking much about online services. 

Some people feel the need of the hour is creating infrastructure and facilities for the employees at work place and addressing the peoples’ problems without much delay.

Adilabad citizens pray for a rail line to Armoor

Adilabad railway station 

The People of the district have pinned lot of hopes on a provision in the railway Budget for the Adilabad- Armoor railway line, which will connect the west part of the district with Karimnagar and Nizamabad.

Adilabad MP Gadam Nagesh, who is hoping that the allocation will be made for it and for a railway over bridge in Adilabad town, said that he had put forth the proposal.

Nagesh said he proposed the Adilabad – Armoor railway line and allocation of funds for the same in this railway budget and already a railway line was extended to Armoor of Nizamabad, Karimnagar from Peddapalli.

‘There was a proposed 317 km Patancheru to Adilabad via Armoor and Nirmal railway line at a cost of Rs 3,700 crore was pending with the Railway Ministry. An  Armoor- Karimnagar line  has already been laid’ said Nagesh adding that now the line between Armoor to Adilabad covering the distance of 135 km had to be taken up’.

‘the Railway ministry declared the Armoor- Adilabad line as unviable during the 2011-12’ he recalled , but he had approached the ministry once again, appealing  to them to keep in mind that this was a backward, tribal area and  this would be a proposed railway track to the newly formed Telangana state’.

The ministry had taken his appeal into consideration and revived the plan to play new railway line between Armoor to Adilabad via Nirmal.     

Sources said, there was every possibility of getting sanction to the railway over bridge near Tamsi bus stand in the Adilabad to enable the people to the cross over easily and also permit the free flow of traffic.       

Safe drinking water a luxury

Atram Pullabai of Chapral

Drinking safe water (borewell) is cause for celebration for the Adivasis of interior areas where there is a drastic fall in the ground water table due to successive droughts in the Adilabad district.

The ground water table has gone down 7.81 meters in November, 2015 when compared to 7.16 meters in the corresponding period of 2014. It means -0.65 meters water table was depleted in the Adilabad district.    

Adivasis are now fetching water from streams, rivulets and drinking wells by walking long distances and majority of these water sources are on the verge of drying up while majority of bore wells were already dry in the district.    

People in general and Adivasis in particular have already experiencing severe drinking water shortage due to prolonged drought conditions in the district and this situation may become worst as summer fast approach.

On the other hand, most of the drinking water schemes have become defunct in the villages and Adivasi gudems due to minor repairs and drinking polluted water causing health problems for the people.      

Adivasis of a few interior gudems like Chapral save water available in the lone borewell fixed with a tap which gives only three buckets of waters every and they extract water one in a while from that borewell to offer that water to relatives when they visit their village or during the festivals. 

The remaining days, Adivasis of village drink muddy water fetched from streams and rivulets. Chapral village is just 7 km from Utnoor headquarters and ITDA office. 

Atram Pullabai of Chapral in Utnoor mandal said ‘villagers are collecting water from deserted well and also local streams and rivulets and using the same water drinking and bathing purposes’.

‘Every day she could hardly fetch only three buckets of water from the local stream and there is huge demand for this water as most of the villagers depend on the same stream and have to put their buckets in a queue waiting for their turn for hours together’, she said.

Mesram Nagorao of the Chapral said ‘they hardly get two or three buckets of water every day from lone borewell tap as ground water table gone down deep due to prolonged drought conditions. They take water once in a week from borewell to give water to their relatives when visit their village or use the borewells water during the festivals and any other celebrations’.He said they used the water collected from the borewell tap during Gussadi festival recently. 

For the last few days the borewell motor is not operational as the electric wire got damaged and few villagers got low level electric shocks while collecting water from the tap and children are at great risk.

ITDA staff fixed the inadequate electric wire and connected to electric motor. Villagers removed the electric wire from the tap to avoid incidents of electric shocks as children were playing around the tap’, said Nagorao.   

Rising social discord helps Maoists

History is repeating itself as far as Maoist movement in north Telangana is concerned.

Land related disputes, discrimination with villagers based on caste and class, villagers forming groups to take revenge against each other are leading to them siding either side of police or Maoists.

The same socio, economic and political conditions prevailed in the villages when Naxals gained foothold in the villages 20 years ago. 

Maoists are taking advantage of prevailing differences between villagers, the gap between rich and poor that has widened in the last 20 years and suppression on down trodden especially Dalits by the local land lords to get foothold in villages in the north Telangana.

The unrest among Adivasis caused by various government policies which alienating them from their ‘Jal, Jungle and Jameen’ apparently forcing some of them to tilt towards Maoists to protect their rights.

The recent non- tribals’ agitation backed by the businessmen and realtors demanding the relaxation in A.P Scheduled Areas Land Transfer Regulation 1 of 1970 (Prohibition of Tribal Land Transfer Act which was popularly known as 1/70Act) which was a safe guard for Adivasis’ rights in Agency areas also created unrest among the Adivasis in the Adilabad district.

Imposing restrictions on Adivasis’s movements and their natural habitats in the name of tiger zones, opencast mines in Adivasi areas, displacing them on large scale from their gudems, growing dominance of the plain area Lambada Tribals and cornering all the benefits meant for the Tribals by Lambadas and planting trees under ‘Haritha Haram’ in lands being cultivated for long time by the Adivasis without conducting joint surveys by the revenue and forest departments are also causing unrest.

The unrest among the Adivasis is quite clear and they have manifested it many times through their agitations which are on the rise in the Telangana. Maoists are reentering into villages by taking up the local social issues and settling the issues in Praja Courts (Kangaroo Courts) and threatening the local land lords and suspected police informers.

The above issues had not surfaced during the Telangana agitation though they had been simmering.The issues had not been addressed by the intellectuals of the Telangana who led the agitation to keep the people united to first achieve separate Telangana state.

This situation is indirectly giving scope for Maoist to regain foothold in the villages in the Adilabad district. Some villagers have become sympathizers of Maoists to take revenge against their rival group.

There are differences among the villagers on the land and it creates two groups in the Patha Ellapur village in Khanapur mandal in the Adilabad. One group is pasted wall posters in the name of Maoists threatening the other group and to take revenge. Police arrested some of them and sent them to judicial custody few weeks ago.

Top Naxalites of that time had attacked the house of powerful landlord and Congress leader G V Pitamber Rao in Tapalpur village in Jannaram mandal which resulted in his death and also death of his two sons in subsequent attack in Nov, 1976.

Adivasis of the interior areas are in the grip of fear in Khanapur mandal in the district following the exchange of fire reportedly that took place between police and Maoists near Shetpalli forest area under Pembi police station limits in Khanapur mandal on November 18.

Tense situation is being prevailed in the Tribal areas since Maoists killed Adivasi youth Kursinge Ballal Shah, 25, of Kheriguda of Tiryani mandal accusing him of being police informer on October 30.

Bellampalli police produced the surrendered Naxaltie Chunchula Bakkanna,38, who reportedly recently rejoined the Maoists, before the Media on November 22 and announced that Bakkanna he was accused in the killing of Ballal Sha. Police took Chunchu Bakkanna into their custody who reportedly injured in exchange of fire between police and Maoists in Shetpalli in Khanapur mandal in the Adilabad.

SP Dr. Tarun Joshi said ‘there was no need for them to kill Maoists in fake encounters and showing the arrest of the Bakkanna was best example for this and alleged that some organizations making propaganda of fake encounters against police without waiting for facts.

Singer Madhupriya ties the knot amidst drama

Amidst the high drama, singer Ms Madhupriya (of ‘Adapillanamma .. Nenu Adapillanani fame) married Mr B. Srikanth of Kagaznagar with whom she fell in love on Friday evening.

The Singer’s parents were against the marriage and there was day-long drama on Friday before the marriage was finally completed under police protection.

The Bride’s parents had allegedly tried to take her away from the bridegroom’s house in Kagaznagar town in Adilabad district on Thursday night. Madhupriya and Srikanth’s parents approached the local police stating that they were majors and thus could marry of their choice.

Singers parents had asked her to get married only after she settled down in her career as a singer. Madhupriya, however, told the police that she wanted to marry Mr Srikanth on the fixed muhurat at 11.30 on Friday itself and did not want to postpone it.

Both the families were counseled at police station and cops finally left the decision to the bride and groom as they were majors. The marriage was performed with the police protection.

Sources said that Ms Madhupriya and Srikanth had fallen in love two years back.  Madhupriya’s family is staying at Nallakunta colony in Hyderabad though they were native of Godavarikhani of Karimnagar and she was doing her LLB first year and learning classical music and searching for opportunities in the Film industry. 

Srikanth was made some short films and looking for opportunities in film industry.

Interest of Adivasis to be protected: KTR

Minister for Panchayat raj and IT K. Taraka Rama Rao on Tuesday said that the next elections for grampanchayats will be conducted only after making Adivasi gudems and lambada thandas in agency areas with a population of 500 as gram Panchayats in the Telangana state.

Mr Ramarao told the Adivasis that next elections for GPs in the agency areas will be held in the gram panchayats as per Adivasis slogan ‘Mava Nate Mava Raj’ (Our government in our Village).         

Addressing a public meeting at Jodeghat on the occasion of Komaram Bheem’s 75^th death anniversary, he said the state government was in the process of creation of Gudems and Thandas as Grampanchayats.

The minister promised the Adivasis that the state government and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Ra will not do anything against the interests of Adivasis and their survival and will give importance to all the tribals.

He said first priority would be given to the Adivasi gudems in the agency areas in giving drinking water under Telangana Water Grid Scheme and 50 double bedroom houses will be constructed for the Adivasi families of Jodeghat.

Ramarao reeled out various welfare and development schemes being implemented by the state government and was all praised for the CM’s initiatives for the welfare of the Tribals.

Minister Ramarao said state government was making efforts to strengthen the government hospitals in the agency areas by upgrading the PHCs and filling up the doctors’ posts. The government also plans to increase salaries of the doctors working in the agency areas, he said.

Ministers Jogu Ramanna, Allola Indrakaran Reddy, Chandu Lal and Sanskritika Sarasdhi Rasmai Balakishan, in their speeches said the state government was committed to the welfare and development of the Tribals.

Adilabad MP Godam Nagesh and Peddapalli MP Balka Suman stressed on the importance of the education and appealed to the Adivasis focus more on education to change their lives.

Komaram Sonerao, grandson of Komaram Bheem, thanked the CM for recognizing sacrifices of Adivasi matyrs led by his grandfather who fought for their community rights. He appealed to government to sanction double bedroom houses to the Adivasis. All the Ministers inaugurated Jal, Jungle and Jameen arch and paid homage to Komaram Bheem

Dwindling forest cover : Adivasis purchase peacock feathers from other states

Instead of collecting them from jungles in the Adilabad district of Telangana, Adivasis these days are purchasing the peacock feathers from Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajastan and Chattisgarh states thanks to the fast depleting forests.

Adivasis use peacock feathers to make hats that are worn by Gussadis( Adivasis)  to perform the Gussadi dance as part of Dandari, celebrated for 15 days coinciding with Diwali.

In the Adilabad district, forest cover has come down to 20 percent from the 44 percent in the last 50 years due to various reasons including indiscriminate felling of trees, wood smuggling and penetration of non- tribals into tribal areas and expansion of small towns in the agency areas in the district. 

In the process, peacocks’population has also come down due to deforestation. Adivasis who used to collect peacock feathers from jungles these days purchases them at high prices.           

A single peacock feather sell for Rs 5 while a bundle for 100 comes for Rs 300. During Diwali, thanks to the demand, each feather sometimes sells for Rs 20.  comprising 100 peacock feathers sell for Rs 300 and each Rs 5.

Peacock feathers are also being collected from Zoos and peacock farms in other states. There are 10 shops in Jainoor selling peacock feathers and each shop will sell hundreds of bundles during the Diwali festival season.

Adivasis use to collect peacock feathers in the forests along with minor forest produce and some of the cattle grazers would also collect the feathers when they went to forest daily.

Abdul Khadir of Jainoor, owner of kirana shop that also stocks peacock feathers, said Adivasis were purchasing peacock feathers from their shops these days as finding them in jungles has become difficult due to drastic fall in the forest cover.

He added that that they have been selling peacock feathers during Diwali for the last 20 years. While earlier only a few bundles would be sold, now he sells hundreds of bundles. Khadir said they purchase peacock feathers in bulk from Rajastan, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Gujarat.

Adivasi leader Kanaka Yadavrao appealed to the panchayat raj minister K. Taraka Ramarao at Jodeghat to ensure state funds to Gussadis to celebrate the event on the occasion of Diwali. 

100 tank bunds coming up in TS

Khanapur tank which was encroached upon in Adilabad town. 

State government is developing existing tanks as mini- tank bunds, one each in Assembly Constituency in all the districts under Mission Kakatiya in the Telangana. Arrangements for Bathukamma will be made at mini- tank bunds by next year like at Tank Bund in Hyderabad.

Encroachments will be removed from the existing tanks to develop them as mini- tank bunds as per the government order NO: 86 issued recently.  Revenue and irrigation departments will conduct join survey and submitted the report to the state government. 

The mini tank buds will be completed before the next Bathukamma festival.

The state government has sanctioned ten mini- tank bunds to the Adilabad district under Mission Kakatiya but only six proposals have been submitted so far to the irrigation department. These tank bunds will also be developed as tourist spots and picnic centres.

Khanapur tank in Adilabad town will be developed as mini- tank bund and also Dharmasagar tank in Nirmal town, in Boath and Sirpur (T) before the next Bathukamma.

Irrigation Minister T. Harish Rao asked the officials to immediately submit the proposals for the mini- tanks bunds in the 10 Assembly constituencies and said he has received proposals so far for only six mini- tank bunds in the district.

The existing tanks will be developed 6 meeters width, Bathukamma ghats will be constructed, sewerage plant will be set up to clean the polluted water mixing into the tank and added that railing, boating plat form, walking track and statues of important political leaders and prominent persons will be installed, area beatification, entertainment facilities, boundaries, cafeteria at the Khanapur tank in the Adilabad.

The water after purifying and keeping the PH percent in the water at required level will be used for drinking and irrigation purposes and feeder channel from Kummarikunta in Kummariwada will be cleaned which is attached to the Khanapur tank.  

Deputy Engineer of Irrigation Adilabad R. Prathap Singh said they have submitted a proposal to develop the Khanapur tank as mini- tank bund at a cost of Rs 18.86 crore in the Adilabad town.

According to reliable sources, the encroachments in Khanapur tank in the Adilabad will be removed and a walking track will be developed in that places as proposed in the report.

E- tailers make most of festive purchases

The e-commerce sites are doing brisk business during the festival season compared to traditional business unlike in the past in the Adilabad district of Telangana.     

Popular e- commerce sites which Flipkart, Snapdeal, Amazon, Paytm etc. offers attractive discounts during the festival season. Many people stick to their smartphones, laptops and desktops for online shopping instead of visiting local showrooms to purchase items.  

These days, the reach of e-commerce sites is growing and even in rural areas people are purchasing online with the increased internet connectivity. The advertisements being published in news papers and Television channels attracts many people with special offers including cash back.

Alke Ashok of Adilabad who recently purchased shoes online said ‘online shopping gives wide choice to customer to go through many varieties with different quality and cost and it was up to the customers to select the products unlike in traditional set up’.

It is observed that, even in rural areas people as a group placing orders online shopping sites for items which are within their budget.

More people are joining the bandwagon with the confidence that they too can purchase items online on seeing their kin and friends.

State to purchase cotton from Next yr

The state government will purchase cotton produce from the farmers from next year onwards through state agencies Nafed and Markfed to benefit the farmers and to ensure remunerative price as the CCI officials are not doing justice to the farmers and Central government is not extending help to the cotton farmers.

Efforts are being made to this effect by the ministry of Marketing led by T. Harish Rao and the issue was taken up and thoroughly discussed in the wake of farmers were not getting MSP Rs 4,100 announced by the Central government since CCI is not purchasing cotton from the farmers citing high moisture content than the permissible 8-12 percent moisture content percent in the cotton.

This problem arose in major cotton growing districts including Adilabad, Warangal and Karimnagar in the state. 

Minister Jogu Ramanna said the Nafed and Markfed have their own staff and machinery and godowns to start commercial cotton purchases but it was not possible for this year and said certainly they will purchase cotton through Nafed and Markfed to do justice instead depending on central government and CCI.

‘State government is of the opinion to strengthen its own agencies to purchase cotton by next year and they were doing exercise for this’, said Minister and added that so far total 71,798 quintals of cotton and in that CCI has purchased only 453 quintals in this Kharif season in the district.

According to official sources, the CCI has opened 14 cotton purchasing centre but the cotton purchases has taken place only at five centres in the district. Farmers are not selling their cotton to the CCI due to imposing restriction on the percent of   moisture content in the cotton produce.

Prove graft, will quit : KTR

Panchayat Raj and IT Minister K. T. Ramarao said he would quit the politics if the Congress leaders proved that there was corruption in the Telangana Water Grid (TWG) scheme.

He was responding to the allegations made by the Congress leaders during Rythu Barossa yatra in Adilabad.

Addressing a public meeting here two days ago in Madegoan village in Dilwarpur madnal after unveiling a pylon of the Water Grid, Ramarao said state government had taken up the Water Grid at a cost of Rs 35,000 crore.

The money was mobilized from various banks and sources but Central has not given a single rupee for the scheme.

He said the government working to bring such development in 60 months that was not done by previous congress governments in the past 60 years. He ridiculed Congress leaders for asking whether the Water Grid had a detailed project report (DPR) and asked whether any bank would lend crores of rupees without going through the DPR.

Ramarao recalled that people had reposed confidence in K. Chandrasekhar Rao and voted the TRS to power even though he had promised to waive crop loan worth Rs 1 lakh against Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi’s offer to clear twice that sum.

He said that the Water Grid comprises 1.25 lakh km. The project would provide safe drinking water through taps in the colonies in Nirmal municipality in another 15 months. Rama Rao inspected the construction works of intake well at Velmal village in Nirmal mandal.

Health Mission to aid tribals

The state government for the first came out with a Tribal Health Mission to improve the medical facilities and prevent all kinds of diseases in the tribal areas in the state and improve the health situation in the tribal areas in the state.

Efforts are being made to preparing a comprehensive health plan for tribals with line with departments like Panchaytraj, Medical and Health, RWS, Tribal welfare and ICDS to create better living conditions in the tribal areas.

Principal secretary for health, Suresh Chadda has been reviewing with the DMHOs about the health situation in the districts and available medical facilities in ten districts for the last two days.        

The state government also constituted cabinet sub-committee on tribal health to look after the issues pertaining to tribals. State government has taken serious note of recent epidemic and large number of Adivasi deaths in tribal areas of Adilabad and came out with a comprehensive plan to prevent diseases.

Existing hospitals would be upgraded 30 bedded hospitals all the tribal areas to improve the medical facilities and banks will be set up, recruit the doctors and paramedical staff and emergency medicines will be made available and incentives would be given to the doctors working in the tribal areas.

Treatment centres for Thalassemia Sickle cell which was a genetic disease will be established in the tribal areas following the high number of cases reported in tribal areas in Adilabad , Khammam and Warangal districts in the state.

Specialist doctors like pediatricians and gynecology will be recruited at the community health centres and existing nutritional food centres meant for anemic patients and pregnant women, lactating women and new born babies suffering from low hemoglobin percent.

Focus will be lay on providing safe drinking water to the tribal habitation, sanitation, giving nutritional good through ICDS, creating infrastructure at hospitals as part of Tribal health mission.

A senior medical officer working in the tribal areas said plans under Tribal Health Mission should be implemented affectively unlike in the past and more focus on sanitation, safe drinking water and giving nutritious good and treatment part comes later and added that prevention is better than cure. 

Cotton farmers not getting MSP

Natural moisture content which lingers between 18 to 20 percent in the cotton produce hit the minimum support price (MSP) for cotton in the open market as the CCI officials have declined to purchase the cotton citing the high moisture content brought by the farmers against permissible 8-12 percent content.

The CCI will deduct Rs 41 per one percent moisture content than the permissible 8 percent content.So far in the district nearly 2,000 quintals of cotton was purchased at various markets in the Adilabad district.   

This situation creates favorable conditions for private cotton traders who are coming forward to purchase the cotton having even high moisture content percent with deducting Rs 41 per one percent higher than the 8 percent moisture content.

However, farmers are not getting MSP with the high moisture content with private traders offering Rs 100 more than the MSP Rs 4100. The farmers are losing in terms of deduction Rs 400 -500 an average for higher moisture content percent.

In the process, cotton farmers are not getting minimum support price MSP Rs4,100 by the central government.                   

Farmers say it is common that moisture content percent will be more than 20 percent in the present weather conditions though farmers not applying water as CCI officials allege to increase the cotton weight. The moisture content percent will come down gradually by the second picking.

Congress state secretary Gandrath Sujatha said CCI officials are making the moisture content percent an issue to bring in the private cotton traders declining to purchase cotton in the guise of high moisture content.

Sujatha demanded that state government should announce Rs 1,000 bonus per quintal cotton like Maharashtra government while ensuring MSP to the cotton by CCI and added that officials and Ministers, MLAs of ruling party are extending support to the private cotton trader and creating favorable conditions for them.

She found fault with the government for insisting on farmers to bring cotton having 8-12 percent moisture content and even pasting wall posters with this regard in the villages though the Ministers know very well that more than  20 percent moisture content is common in the initial days.

Bathukamma boost marigold farming

The input subsidy by the government coupled with the prominence to the Bathukamma festival where flowers are extensively used, have boosted cultivation of marigold in Adilabad district of Telangana.

The vibrantly hued and considerably large sized flowers of marigold make it the most preferred while decorating ‘Bathukamma’ and this has created demand for its cultivation.

Apart from ‘tangedu’ and gunugu  flowe, women used marigold in the floral arrangement. The Bathukamma festival has gained much importance after carving out of separate Telangana.  

To encourage farmers grow flowers, the horticulture department has been giving subsidy to the farmers cultivating marigold, jasmine and other varieties and as expected , many peasants opted for them as there is good profit. Marigold is a four-month crop involving very less risk.     

Assistant director, Agriculture dept, Adilabad Mohd Sattar said there is high demand for flowers these days as use of flowers has increased many times in day today life and on every occasion like Diwali, Dassara, Ayyappa and Bathukamma celebrations.

‘The rise in demand for marigold has increased due to the increasing popularity of Bathukamma festival’.

Earlier, the cultivation of these flowers was just confined to surrounding Hyderabad but now it has spread to all other districts in the state as farmers are getting remunerative prices’, Mr Sattar said.

According to official sources, the cultivation area of marigold has increased to nearly 300 acres this season from 60 acres earlier.  Marigold is prominent grown in Bhainsa, Gudihatnoor, Luxettipet, Tanoor, Adilabad, Nirmal, Ichoda, Kagaznagar areas in the district.  The total cultivation area of all flowers put together is 600 acres in the Adilabad district.

Boora Pocham, a farmers of Raspalli village in Kagaznagar mandal, said he cultivated marigold in 2.5 acre, this season, of the totally seven acres he totally owned in view of the high demand for those flowers.

Nearly 15 farmers are cultivating flowers, especially marigold, in the Sirpur (T) Assembly constituency following the encouragement from MLA Koneru Konappa.

Horticulture department is giving special subsidy for cultivation of flowers to meet the local demand and to encourage farmers to go for cross cultivation.

Marigold is priced between Rs 50-70 a kg and during the peak season, it even touches the Rs 200 a kg mark. Cultivation of flowers has increased in Bhainsa, Gudihatnoor, Luxettipet, Tanoor, Adilabad, Nirmal, Ichoda, Kagaznagar areas in the district.

Non- tribals ask to relax Tribals Act

 Lambada Tribal leaders of TDP and Cong participates in rally in Utnoor 

Telugu Desam leaders stole the show of non- tribals who thronged the Utnoor town in Adilabad district on Tuesday demanding the state government to relax the 1/70 Act (A.P Scheduled Areas Land Transfer Regulation 1 of 1970) to enable land transfers to non- tribals and issue pattas to their lands in tribal areas.    

Utnoor police had denied the permission to the non- tribals’ meeting citing the possible law and order problem in the area and some tribals opposed the non- tribal meeting.

However, police allowed the non- tribals to gather at a function hall on the city outskirts where non- tribal leaders and TDP and Congress leaders addressed the gathering.                

Non- tribals living in 32 tribal mandals of the district have launched an agitation under the banner of Non- Tribals Rights Protection Committee demanding issue pattas to their lands and allowing land transfer between non- tribals and jobs in tribals areas. 

Non-tribals participated in the rally raised slogans against the Telangana government.          

Participation of former Adilabad MP Ramesh Rathod, defeated MLAs of Boath and Khanapur eats Anil Jadhav and Azmeera Hari Naik of Congress in the event actively and lead the rally in the Utnoor surprising everybody.

TDP senior leaders Boda Janardhan, Pati Subadra, Younus Akbani and Sriram Naik of BJP, non- tribal leader Bharath Waghmare and Kamble Namdev participated in the meeting and extended their support to the agitating non tribal and their demands.           

Lambada tribal leaders openly participating in the agitation programmes of non- tribals against the existing Tribal Acts.

In their speeches non- tribal leaders targeted Adilabad MP Godam Nagesh of TRS who defeated Ramesh Rathod in the last elections and held Nagesh responsible for the police denying the permission for their meeting and said non- tribal are not begging the state government but they were demanding for their rights in the agency on par with the tribals as they have been living in the agency area for long time. No ruling party leaders, MLA and Ministers attended the meeting.   

Utnoor DSP Venkateshwarlu supervised the situation in the Utnoor till the non- tribals left the Utnoor to their native places.

BT cotton has no pest resistance, says farmers

After unwanted rains, the cotton crop now faces a threat from the so-called sucking pest which is eating up the yield.

The pest popularly known as Laddepurugu (Spodptera Lithura), American Bollworm, Verupurugu (Root grub) attacked BT- cotton plants, though  the variety  is considered to be Bt cotton was considered to be pest resistant up to nine months. The yield is likely to come down as cotton plants whither under pest attack.

Progressive farmer Narala Vasanth of Kokasmannur village in Ichoda said, it appears that the Laddepurugu has improved its resistance and eating the BT cotton plant at the seventh itself.

BT cotton plants  was considered to be pest resistant up to 90 days and there will be no affect pets on the cotton plants even though pest attacked the plant at that stage.

He said the pest may attack the BT cotton much early in the coming seasons with the increased resistance of the pest and added that farmers were not following the  advise of the agriculture officials that farmers should sow four lanes of non-BT cotton beside the BT cotton. It is found that the sucking pest was not killed by pesticides.

Minister Jogu Ramanna who visited cotton fields in the Deepaiguda in Jainad mandal said even agriculture scientists were clueless about the pest attacked on cotton plants this season. He said scientists were still in the field researching the reasons for pest attack.

Retired assistant director of agriculture C. Narsing said the farmers will get 120 grams of non BT seeds along with 450 grams BT seeds but farmers are not sowing non BT seeds beside the BT seeds.  

Cotton was cultivated in 3.17 lakh hectares in this Kharif season in district. Cotton cultivation was high in Adilabad division in the district. Pest attack was high in Adilabad, Bela, Jainad, Tamsi, Talamadugu, Ichoda mandals. There are 3.5 lakh farmers in the district.               

Above 3,000 RMPs work in Adilabad

The Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), Utnoor officials have identified more than 3,000 Registered Medical Practitioners (RMPs) working in 13 out of total 52 mandals and their number will be much more in the entire Adilabad district of Telangana.  

Officials are arresting RMPs on the charges of giving wrong diagnosis to the patients especially tribals and damaging their health and sometimes resulting in their death.

RMPs were asked to submit the samples of malaria tests and diagnosis reports to the medical department on regular basis so that medical experts assess the diagnosis given by the RMPs.

Agency medical officials say that untrained RMPs are creating panic among the people of the tribal areas especially Adivasis with wrong diagnosis of malaria falcifparum and dengu cases and referring them to the corporate hospitals in Karimnagar, Warangal and Hyderabad with whom they had connection and get  heavy commissions.       

It is found that 200 to 300 RMPs are rendering their services in the rural areas in district. ITDA officials recently seized RMP clinic in the Utnoor for wrong diagnosis and causing death of a tribal.The RMPs have been collecting huge fees from gullible tribal people for treating the patients.

However there were incidents where RMPs saved the lives of the people in interior areas in the absence of trained doctors. RMPs and also some fake doctors running clinics in the tribal areas.

Medical, revenue and police departments recently conducted a meeting with RMPs at Utnoor and warned them not o give faulty diagnosis like giving high dose medicines and antipyretics for immediate relief to the patients as it can cause health problems.

A tribal patient of Jendaguda in Jainoor died of faulty diagnosis by the local RMP.  Most local RMPs refer the patient to the government hospital when the latter’s condition become serious.

Another tribal patient of Pitlanaik Thanda of Sirpur (U) died while undergoing treatment at RIMS who was admitted there with serious health complications due to faulty diagnosis at a clinic run by a fake doctor in Utnoor mandal headquarters.

Collector M. Jagan Mohan wrote letters to 17 clusters of Compulsory Nutritional and Health (CPH) to keep a watch on local RMPs and their faulty diagnosis.

District Malaria officer Alham Ravi said they have identified more than 3,000 RMPs in eight high risk mandals in Utnoor division and in Kadam, Sirpur(T), Jannaram, Kasipet and Kagaznagar mandals in the district.

It is learnt that state government is planning to impart training to RMPs, PMPs (Private Medical Practitioners) with regard to primary medical treatment to improve their standards and can use their services in emergency.