KAKINADA: The ongoing tussle between Telangana Governor Tamilisai and TS Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is surfacing wherever the former goes to assess flood damage and relief works, whether at Bhadrachalam in Telangana or Yanam in Puducherry near Kakinada of Andhra Pradesh.
The Governor of Telangana is also the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry and in the latter capacity visited Yanam on Tuesday to take stock of the flood situation in the region. Addressing media, Tamilisai jocularly remarked that flood in Yanam cannot be attributed to cloudburst.
“It (cloudburst) is a type of wine. We will not allow it here,” she remarked. (Sale of alcohol manufactured in one state is not allowed in other states or union territories without a duty being paid.) Responding to a question, the Lieutenant Governor observed that this year, water from upper reaches as well as Telangana has gone up beyond estimates. Tongue in cheek, she said: “We will not allow cloudburst to happen in Yanam. It is a type of wine and we will not allow it here.”
She visited Dariyalatippa, Field Labour Society, Ayyanna Nagar, Parampeta, Old Rajiv Nagar, Balayogi Nagar and other areas. She was accompanied by Puducherry ministers Lakshminarayana and Sai Sarvanan, Yanam MLA Gollapalli Ashok, former minister Malladi Krishna Rao and Yanam regional administrator Aman Sarma.
Tamilisai underlined: “Our immediate concern is to provide essentials like food, water, clothing and shelter, besides medicines, to affected people in rehabilitation camps and elsewhere in Yanam. There is a long-term plan to construct a bund along Godavari at a cost of ₹130 crores and the centre will provide funds. Experts will visit Yanam and deal with technical aspects of constructing the bund, taking into account the Polavaram project. The bund will be constructed in cooperation from Telangana and AP governments,” she stated.
When a reporter asked her about flood relief in Telangana and a fresh demand by that state for regaining mandals merged with AP, the TS Governor evaded the question. She maintained that she will not comment on Telangana in Yanam.
Earlier, followers of MLA Gollapalli Ashok and former MLA Malladi Krishna Rao quarrelled with each other, leading to a riot in front of the regional administrator’s office before Tamilisai arrived. Police entered the scene and dispersed rioters using lathis.
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