Navarathnalu Have Found A Place In People’s Hearts  

Rangararayapuram, Vizianagaram district: This morning I set out on my Padayatra from Tummikapalem in Kothavalasa mandal and reached Rangarayapuram in L. Kota mandal. It was extremely hot all through the day. It seemed more like a summer day and yet it did not affect the spirits of thousands of people who were waiting for me waiting for me patiently, with cheer and enthusiasm. Around the evening, it cooled down a bit as it appeared to rain.

Many groups of the needy and poor from Kothavalasa came and met me. These hawkers and vendors make a living out of selling fruits, tea and small savouries and snacks. They had been running these small shops for the past 30 years in Kothavalasa near the junction and have been paying their taxes to the Panchayat as well as the Railway authorities scrupulously over all these years. In one fell swoop, one day their shops were removed on the pretext of a railway under bridge. This incident took place last month. They were distraught that they had been robbed of their livelihood overnight.

These TDP rulers turn a blind eye to the land grabbing of bigger sharks who have encroached upon hundreds of acres, they said. They lamented that they, who belong to the weakest layer of society, who struggled to make a living and who paid their taxes regularly, were displaced overnight mercilessly.

Jute mill workers of Kothavalasa were also in dire straits. It is only in North Andhra that one finds jute mills. This industry, which provides employment to thousands of workers, now finds itself in a state of turmoil. Government support has come down drastically, while electricity charges continue to rise by the day.

The result is that as mill after mill continues to shut down, workers migrate to other regions in search of livelihood. There were 35 jute mills in North Andhra at one time, the second highest number in the country and this region is now left with 18! And the ones which function today are reeling under losses. There is no sign of new industries coming up. In such a scenario, shouldn’t the government make every effort to ensure that the ones which are functioning, do so without any hitch? Is it not the responsibility of the government to protect these industries with a touch of humanity, units with which the lives of thousands of poor workers are intertwined? Can any government be driven by commercial interests and selfish objectives alone, in everything?

Workers of Jindal factory told me about their pathetic conditions. They had to work under very difficult conditions without minimum wages or laws related to workers. In my father’s rule, a wage board would be constituted once every two years for revision of pay structures. That a wage board had not been formed in six and a half years mirrors Chandrababu Naidu’s negligent attitude, they pointed out.

In spite of having put in three decades of service in the factory, they said that they were not able to make their ends meet. They had no Arogyasri to fall back upon in case of illness and hospitalisation. Inflation was spiralling out of control, making daily life increasingly difficult, they said. With no corresponding increase in salaries, life became a challenge, they said.

I came across an interesting Navarathnalu stall at Ganguboodi junction. Children were enacting the roles of beneficiaries. The entire scene appealed to me tremendously. For the past many months I have been describing at length the Navarathnalu, but now when I saw children describe them with such clarity, I was thrilled and amused. It gave me great joy to see that the idea of welfare governance based on Navarathnalu has spread far and wide reaching all sections of society.

I have a question for the chief minister—you had said that you would declare a new industrial policy within 30 days of coming to power. After four and a half years of your rule, with 4 months left, we have still not heard of any new industrial policy. You had promised a job to every household in your manifesto. Is it not true that more industries have been shut down than ones that have opened in your tenure? What is your response to thousands of workers who have lost their livelihood and who were forced to migrate to other places in search of jobs and livelihood?