YSR Congress Party president, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's sister Sharmila is all set to resume her 'Maro Praja Prasthanam' Padayatra from February 6. She will begin her walkathon from Ranga Reddy district.

Addressing a press conference at YSRCP office, party spokesperson Vasireddy Padma officially announced that Sharmila would start her padayatra from Imjapur in Ranga Reddy district on February 6.

As promised earlier, she would complete 3,000 kilometers which is to end at Itchapuram in Srikakulam district.

It may be recalled that Sharmila had sustained a knee injury on her right leg on December 15 last year, when she slipped while getting down from a vehicle after addressing a public meeting in Ranga Reddy district. Sharmila suffered a ligament tear and was advised rest. Thus she was forced to take a break from her padayatra.

Following the doctors' advice, Sharmila was admitted to the Apollo Hospital in Hyderabad on December 18 where she underwent a surgery for her knee injury.

After resting for one month post surgery, Sharmila on Sunday visited the Apollo Hospital in Hyderabad. After conducting several clinical procedures on Sharmila, doctors declared her fit for normal duties, Vasireddy Padama said.

Sharmila is yet to fully recover from the pain. However, she is firm on resuming her padayatra to fulfill the promise she made to her brother and people, the YSRCP spokesperson said.

Sharmila, who embarked her foot march on October 18, a repeat of her father late Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s 1,600-km long padayatra in 2003, from Idupulapaya, has so far covered 24 constituencies, 10 municipalities and nearly 400 villages completing 822 kilometers.

Shramila who started her state-wide padayatra at Idupulapaya in Kadapa district, had completed 57 days and passed through YSR, Anantapur, Kurnool, Mahbubnagar and Rangareddy districts.

Sharmila had embarked upon a padayatra to understand the hardships faced by people and interact with all sections of the society.

It's worth mentioning here that Sharmila's walkathon received a rousing welcome wherever she went. It was as if YSR had come back. The way people greeted her, poured out their sorrows, gave vent to their frustration was simply unimaginable. Sharmila is now the ray of hope for many a villagers in Andhra Pradesh who are looking forward to the return of YSR's golden rule where all their needs were taken care of.

With the rising popularity of YSRCP by the day and the migrations of members from other parties only goes to show the strength the party has gathered over the last few months.
Now, Sharmila is back with a bang, all set to restart her padayatra.

- Siva@sakshipost