Dalit Bandu, potholes-ridden unpaved roads, stinky drains, dilapidated condition of schools and college, 2BHK scheme are some of the talking points in the SC segment.
An unconstructed road in the residential area of near the Joginath temple (left) and houses at one of the SC colonies in Andole segment. (Ajay Tomar/South First)
With the Telangana Assembly elections 2023 just days away, South First is bringing you ground reports from key constituencies. This series brings you voices from the ground, the mood of the voters, and issues that matter — as well as those that don’t.
The twin towns of Andole and Jogipet are located some 80-odd km from Hyderabad, a nearly two-and-a-half ride, via National Highway (NH) 161.
The Andole Assembly constituency, a conurbation, is witnessing an interesting contest. The candidates of all three major parties have been elected as the MLA at least once during the past 24 years.
The battle of MLAs might give a false impression of the development of the constituency. Sample this: “One has to travel 35 km either to Sangareddy or around 40 km to Medak to find a hotel. Several outsiders who come here even sleep at the bus terminal as they are left with no choice,” M Shankar (38), a tea-stall owner near Jogipet’s New Bawarchi hotel, told South First.
The situation is not different for the residents who grapple with underdevelopment daily in the segment reserved for Schedule Caste (SC).
Telangana government’s flagship programmes, the Dalit Bandhu or two-bedroom house schemes, do not excite the residents of Gudem and Ambedkar Nagar — two colonies in Andole.
For the commuters as well as shopkeepers, the dirt roads, potholes, and stinking drains in the constituency have become “normal”.
Andole Assembly constituency. (Click here to enlarge the image)
P Bhumaiah was with friends T Balaiah (65) and T Sailu (60) in the courtyard of one of the houses in Ambedkar Nagar Colony.
The 66-year-old man wanted to open a grocery shop for his son when he heard about the Dalit Bandhu scheme.
Announced in 2021, the state government launched the scheme, promising to provide assistance of ₹10 lakh each to Dalit families for their economic development.
However, his dream has not materialised even after two years.
“Not even a single person in our village has received the benefits of the scheme,” a disappointed Bhumaiah alleged. The village has more than 150 families and 500 people
“People in our village applied in September. Whenever we visit the Mandal Revenue Office (MRO), they ask us to wait patiently. Nobody knows when this wait will end,” Balaiah quipped, Both Bhumaiah and Sailu nodded.
P Bhumaiah was with his friends T Balaiah (65) and T Sailu (60). (Ayay Tomar/South First)
Sailu brought up the topic of the Telangana government’s other flagship programme, the 2-BHK scheme, popularly known as the double-bedroom scheme. “In our village, only 10 people have got it so far. We heard they are drawing lots to select the beneficiaries. What is this rule? What is the benefit of such schemes if they are not reaching all of us? At least 50 people should have been allotted those houses here, if not more.”
About a kilometre away, a shopkeeper, who belongs to the Mala community, claimed that the aides of local MLA (Kranti Kiran from BRS) are getting preferential treatment when the scheme amount is disbursed. The man, who sought anonymity, also pointed out that he has not received either Dalit Bandhu or the double-bedroom house.
“Even if an SC community member is allocated the Dalit Bandhu, a certain amount should be paid to the officials as commission,” he alleged.
Dakoor village is a 15-minute ride towards the bypass. The villagers claimed that no official communication regarding Dalit Bandhu had reached them despite claims by the BRS. “The party people claimed that the scheme amount will soon be disbursed but we received no official word or the amount,” R Pentaiah (60) told South First.
Across Andole and Jogipet towns, crumbling civic infrastructure is an eyesore. Infrastructure development seemed to be the least priority of legislators elected over the years.
On the Medak road beside the Hanuman temple in Jogipet. (Ajay Tomar/South First)
From the Zila Parishad High Schools (ZPHS), Government Degree College, the town’s only 100-bed government hospital, or the residential areas, the buildings and roads in the constituency are in a bad state.
The three double-bedroom colonies in Andole and Jogipet, which South First visited, have uneven, potholed roads.
Mohammed Bibi (47), a resident of the 2BHK colony beside the Gudem village, said, “The situation gets worse when it rains as the roads get muddy and it’s next to impossible to walk on them. We are now being told that it will be constructed after the polls.”
The colonies are set in unhygienic conditions, with growing mounds of filth including plastic bottles, and polythene bags behind the buildings. The municipal corporation sanitation workers come only twice a week to collect garbage. The situation of drains is the same and the possibility of an outbreak of water-borne diseases threatens the colonies.
Shiva Kumar, a bhajji seller on the Joginath Crossroad opposite the Andole-Jogipet Municipality office, pointed towards the putrid drain beside his cart.
“Many commuters riding bicycles and scooters on this road have fallen into this mori (drain). During the rainy season, the drain water and dirt overflow onto the roads, and the stink is unbearable. Several municipal officials pass through here daily but none of them cares,” he said.
South First also came across several main and interior unpaved roads including near the ZPH boys school, Babanagar, Rickshaw Colony, Government Hospital, Kodekal village, Joginatha Temple, and Babanagar.
Akbar Hussain (48), a scrap dealer near the ZPH girls school pointed towards the Babanagar school. “This road has been lying unrepaired for at least 20-odd years now. It is in dire need of repair as school buses and other vehicles cannot pass through it.”
On either side of Jogipet’s Ambedkar statue crossroads is a Zila Parishad High School. The “nearly 50-year-old” ZPH girls school is a true embodiment of infrastructure woes.
ZPH girls school in Andole. (Ajay Tomar/South First)
It is as if all the development went to the three-storey boys school where Babasaheb points his finger in the most familiar style.
For more than 350 students, the ZPH girls school has two washrooms that are in a dilapidated state right beside the courtyard, which itself is a turf of mud.
“The management of the boys school received donations from several donors including Minister Harish Rao,” one of the teachers told South First while requesting anonymity, fearing reprisal.
The school boasts of three smart classrooms with digital boards and imparts education in three mediums (Telugu, Urdu, and English). Of the nine classrooms, some do not even have enough desks or benches. As a result, the students were seen sitting outside the classrooms.
The school, which is situated on an acre, is a picture of neglect with broken floors, crumbling compound walls, and the plastering peeling off the walls with visible cracks and water leakages.
“The classrooms are congested due to which the students have to sit outside. The Mana Ooru Mana Badi (Our Village-Our School) initiative has not been implemented here so far. We badly need furniture (tables, stools). The government has released tenders but the contractors have not come forward till now,” another teacher explained to South First.
Every day, the girls have to travel nearly a kilometre via the main road to reach the Andole and Jogipet’s lone sports stadium.
“The girls’ safety is another important issue for us. God forbid, but what if some accident takes place one day? We (staff) would be blamed. The District Education Officer (DEO) and the local MLA (Kranti Kiran) have visited once for an inspection. We requested sports equipment under the ‘Telangana Kreeda Pranganam’ (government’s initiative to scale up sports facilities in government schools),” the teacher said.
About two kilometres from these two schools is the town’s Nehru Memorial Government Degree College. The situation is no better in the institution, which boasts of undergraduate and postgraduate classes.
Massive shrubs and bushes compete to grow wild on its compound. Once again, the roads are completely unpaved. A neglected pond, half the size of a kabbadi court, next to the girls hostel has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. The pond was dug for aquacultural purposes.
Reports suggested that the main demand of the farmers in the Andole constituency is water from the Singur dam, to irrigate their fields.
Villagers in Dakoor.
In 2021, MLA Kranti Kiran released irrigation water from Singur. However, the required infrastructure, including distribution channels, was not constructed, and many fields were left parched.
A Moglaya (52) of Dakoor village received Singur water in his fields around a fortnight ago.
“Last year the water did not come at all and this year it came in November, around 15 to 16 days ago in Dakoor, Brahmanpalle, and Aksanpalle. The officials said the dam is filled so they had no option but to release the water,” he told South First while sitting near a bonfire to warm himself along with a few other villagers.
Another farmer, G Arjun (32) suspected that this might be an “election stunt”. “We do not need water for irrigation right now as the weather is cold and cotton has already been harvested. We need water from June to December, but for most of the months we did not receive it,” he asserted.
In the Andole segment, sitting MLA and BRS leader Chanti Kranthi Kiran will be seeking a second term against his “prime-rival” Damodhar Raja Narasimha of the Congress, and BJP’s actor-turned-politician Babu Mohan.
Election campaigning of Congress candidate Damodhar Raja Narasimha. (Ajay Tomar/South First)
Narasimha, himself a three-time MLA from Andole, served as the deputy chief minister during the tenure of YS Rajasekhar Reddy. He was also appointed as the minister for primary education and minister for marketing and warehousing.
Babu Mohan has been a two-time MLA from Andole — in 1999 while contesting on a TDP ticket, and in 2014 after he switched over to the TRS.
In the 2018 Assembly elections, Kranthi Kiran defeated Damodhar Narasimha by a margin of over eight percent (16,465 votes).
The ground situation seemed quite similar this time too. Voters are divided between the ruling BRS and the Congress.
The BRS has been harping on the success of Rythu Bandhu, Kalyanlakshmi, Shaadimubarak, Aasara pension, and other government schemes.
S Yadagiri (eft) and Govardhan Goud (right). (Ajay Tomar/South First)
“During the Congress regime, power for irrigation was limited to only six hours. I used to sleep in the fields with my mother. Sometimes we used to get drenched in the rain. But now, we have power throughout the day. What the Congress could not do in 40 years, KCR did in 10 years,” B Emmaiah (46) (name changed on request), a shopkeeper on the Durga Bhavani Road, told South First.
He added that citizens should not lose faith in the BRS government and should give it another five years.
However, for Govardhan Goud (50) unemployment is a big woe that the ruling government has failed to tackle. “The children are going to Hyderabad and Sangareddy for jobs. During the Congress’s time, MLA Damodhar built a polytechnic, agricultural diploma college, a degree college, JNTU (Sulthanpur), and initiated the Singur Dam project,” Goud said.
S Yadagiri (50), a resident of Jogipet town, opined that Congress’s six guarantees could prove to be a masterstroke in the elections. “They have promised to bring the price of gas cylinders down to ₹500 while Rao (KCR) is busy promoting his own family. The present government is accused of land grabbing. Its Dharani portal is also problematic,” he said.
For them, Kranthi Kiran did not even construct a public park for entertainment purposes. “But the present government is busy opening wine shops, at least three on this road itself. If there had been development, then a lodge would have also come up.”
Several voters viewed BJP’s Babu Mohan as a humble and good individual. “But the BJP does not stand a chance here,” G Abhilash, a BTech student told South First.
Meanwhile, as far as A Moglaya of Dakoor village and Mohammad Bibi of the Gudem 2BHK colony are concerned, whichever party comes to power should implement the schemes and fulfill its promises.
Andole Assembly constituency comprises nine mandals. The Election Commission said the Andole (SC) constituency has 2,44,710 voters — 1,24,113 women followed by 1,20,572 men and five voters from third gender.
An estimated 41 percent population in the Andole Assembly constituency comprises Schedule Castes (SC) dominated by the Mala and Madiga communities. Next is the Backward Classes (BC) — around 40 percent — community comprising Golla-Kuruma, Mudiraja, Padmashali, and Goud communities.
The Scheduled Tribes (ST) form about five percent of Andole’s population primarily comprising the Lambadi community.
The remaining 14 percent comprises forward castes such as Reddys, Brahmins, Vaishyas, and other castes (around 10 percent), and the Muslim community (around four percent).
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