Women demand liquor ban in adopted villages

Ministers, MLAs and top district officials who adopted more than 410 out of total 866 gram panchayats under Grama Jyoti programme were seems to be caught in the cross fire. They can neither support the ban on liquor in any form against the government interest nor support the liquor consumption in their villages in the Adilabad district of Telangana.

On the other hand, local liquor businessman and liquor mafia have started campaign against toddy and Gudumba by taking the advantage of the situation as far as toddy is concerned and forcing the villagers with the help of village development committees to boycott toddy only to increase the liquor sales.

Ministers and MLAs first adopted one grampanchayat of their choice in their respective Assembly constituency and later the number increased to three.

Now the women of the grampanchayats have taken a decision to ban liquor in any form and its sale in their villages to avoid nuisance by the drinkers and also prevent the families from ruin.

Interestingly, in some places, local liquor businessmen who recently got licenses for liquor shops by paying increased license fee and application fee are influencing the village development committees to ensure that women boycott only toddy and gudumba.

Village development committees are boycotting toddy and guduma in the villages taking the advantage of prevailing situation that nearly 20 habitual toddy and gudumba drinkers died of alcohol withdrawal symptoms evident in the Nirmal division.

Mudhole MLA G. Vittal Reddy is facing this peculiar situation in his Assembly constituency where women took an oath boycotting liquor and its sales in the villages. Subsequently many habitual drinkers fell sick and many deaths reported with the alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

Excise department officials are also facing embarrassing the situation with the  villagers especially women boycotting the liquor and demanding for the cancellation of licenses to the liquor shops.

An officer who adopted a village under Grama Jyoti in Adilabad mandal said now he cannot support the women who wanted liquor ban in the village which goes against the interest of the state government.

Play active role in Grama Jyoti, Ministers tell villagers

Ministers go through guidelines of Gramajyoti 

Minister or forest and environment Jogu Ramanna said the state government was encouraging the people through Grama Jyoti to create development works which can be done through ‘Shramadanam’ by the villagers instead of spending funds.

He elaborated that there were many works which can be done with Shramadanam like laying gravel roads, sanitation and eradication of open defecation, planting trees and filling the ditches and patching the potholes on the roads.

While attending an awareness meeting on the scheme to the elected public representatives of local bodies and MLAs in Adilabad, Jogu Ramanna said people should not think that they shelved the ‘Mana Vooru Mana  Pranalika’ programme.

He added that Grama Jyoti to be implemented based on the data collected through Mana Vooru Mana Pranalika only and Grama Jyoti was extension to it.

Endowments Minister Allola Indrakaran Reddy said that Adilabad district will get Rs 2,413 crore funds in four years under Grama Jyoti for the development of the works in villages.

He appealed to the people to actively take part in the Grama Jyoti programme to be held from August 17 to 23 and added that officials and elected public representatives would stay during night in the villages for three days that is August 19 to 21 during progamme.

Indrakaran Reddy said works passed by Grama Sabha only will be taken up during the programme and that the village leaders, sarpanch and elected representatives of local bodies should decided the needs of the villagers. 

Minister said people should themselves in the Grama Jyoti to convert their villages as model villages like Gangadevipalli in Warangal, Ankapoor in Nizamabad , Mulkanoor in Karimnagar.

Village schemes confused people

  

Most of the villagers, Sarpanches and other elected representatives of local bodies were confused with no much difference between ‘Mana Vooru Mana Pranalika’ launched in the past and now Grama Jyoti schemes introduced by the TRS government in the state.

There is not much difference between the two schemes except the date of launch. The former was launched recent past and the latter would be launched on August17. 

The both the schemes are similar in many of the aspects. There is not much difference between the two programs as far as action plan for the development of the gram panchayats.

Even the officials, who attended meeting on Grama jyoti held in Hyderbad, kept talking, in low voices,that the only difference is telling the people in grampanchayats about their limited funds they get from various central government schemes like 14^th Finance Commission, BRGF, SC and ST sub-plan for the development under Gram jyoti unlike Mana Vooru Mana Pranalika for which funds were assured by state government.

However, officials concerned say that state government wants to be practical with regard to development works to be taken up in gram panchayats and required funds to complete them in the Grama Jyoti unlike ‘Mana Vooru Mana Pranalika’.

A senior officer of district planning dpartment said, ‘the developmental works proposed under Mana Vooru Mana Pranalika are impractical as they are huge in numbers and the works required hundreds of crore.

‘Works relating to CC road, worth Rs 10 crore, were proposed in a village under Mana Vooru Mana Pranalika and providing such a huge funds for roads in a single village was difficult for the government ’.

The officer said the state government is replicating development models of Grampanchayats successful in Kerala and Orissa under Grama Jyoti.

State government is showing the funds to be allotted to the Gram Panchayats under various schemes being implemented by the state and central government.

K. Rajeshwar of Talamadugu opined that it seems that both the ‘Mana Vooru Mana Pranalika’ and Grama Jyoti were similar in many aspects and added that how the state government will go for new works without completing the works proposed under Mana Vooru Mana Pranalika.

‘I do not understand the logic behind announcing many schemes with same model for the development of the grampanchayats’, he said.

Low profile I-Day in TS

State government is going to organize Independence Day celebrations without much fanfare and announcing new financial schemes this time unlike last year in the wake of state government’s poor financial position. No big arrangements were seen with regard to Independence Day celebrations.  

The focus is more on launching of ‘Grama Jyoti’ on August17 and officials are busy in making arrangements for Grama Jyoti. District officials are conducting orientation programme on Grama Jyoti for officials concerned, MPTC, ZPTC, MLAs and Ministers on August14.

It is learnt that, the state government is planning to give awards and appreciation letters to the officials including police worked for Godavari pushkaralu.

Government schemes will be on display during the Independence Day celebrations and bank loans will be distributed to the beneficiaries on the occasion.

Last year, state government has announced new schemes to various sections of the people and celebrated the event on grand scale even at the forts giving new look to the independence day celebrations for the first time in the districts.

Independence Day celebrations were observed at Nirmal fort by the officials for the first time last year but it is not sure whether the officials are going to observe the event at first this time too or not.