The Maoists have warned the State Government against going ahead with the Gurupriya Setu. Notably, during his recent visit here, DGP Sanjeev Marik had assured that all necessary steps would be taken to build the bridge to ensure communication link to the cut off people in Malkangiri district.
Maoist leader Poonam said the DGP’s assurance of building the bridge may never translate into action. She said when the basic needs of people like education, health, house, water and sanitation, land patta and boats were not fulfilled; the Government may not be able to build the bridge. Hence, the Government was befooling the innocent trbals, she said.
She said the tribals were still deprived of land compensation, medical facility, including safe delivery by pregnant women. She said many senior citizens were dying due to lack of treatment.
She said the Government was planning to spend a sum of `250 crores for the proposed bridge. But it would have been better if the sum had been spent for providing basic amenities to the people. She said the bridge project would be given priority because if it took off, it would benefit Government officials, contractors and police. Poonam said the Government was not fulfilling the basic needs of people staying from Kalimela, Karkatpali to Manyamkonda and was reluctant to give ST status to the Kondareddy people. The police were just running operation in the name of Greenhunt against the Maoists who were working for the underprivileged.
Saying that the Government cannot scuttle Maoist movement through force, she said the people like Madan Hantal, Deva Madkami and Ganga Podiyami, who had been awarded death sentence in the Prajakot, were still working for the police.