Land-locked T needs good rail & road networks: CPM

HYDERABAD: Unless social movements and political system in Telangana rein in the capitalist forces, one cannot anticipate any prospect of the region's development. Since Telangana is land-locked, any development agenda for it should be based on this shortcoming, CPM Politburo member BV Raghavulu has said.

Speaking at a round table conference on 'Comprehensive Development of Telangana State' organised by Social Justice Forum here on Sunday, he foresaw difficult times for the new state and said the government in the new state should extensively concentrate on development of railway and road networks.

'Conscious decisions should be made to develop road and rail networks connecting small towns and cities. Because, the present Outer Ring Road in Hyderabad, which is greatly talked about, does not contribute to any economic development.

All it does is bring people to Hyderabad in two or three hours via a road that does not pass through even a small human settlement. So there is no economic activity. This is like contributing solely to development of Hyderabad at the cost of other small towns,' he pointed out.

Senior journalist Mallepalli Lakshmaiah appealed to politicians to strive for the development of minor irrigation systems in the region, besides modernising the crafts of several castes.

'In the last two decades, the importance of the lakes in the villages from economic and sociological viewpoint has been ignored and consequently today there are no lakes.

It is high time that the government in the region gave a thrust to development of lakes. For the benefit of the artisan-castes, the government should provide required tools for them,' he added.

Prof Bhangya Bhukya of the English and Foreign Languages university said tribal people were the biggest victims of the neo-liberal forces and found fault with the top-down approach of development.

'Although, Telangana is home to numerous tribes, no political party in the state has given them adequate representation. Also, not even one strong leader has emerged from these communities. Besides, political parties that viewed development from economic angle failed to empower tribals politically,' he remarked.

Highlighting the importance of decentralisation, former secretary to prime minister KR Venugopal said, 'The school curriculum in the region should include topics on human rights which teach students their rights. This will result in social and political awakening among students and contribute to participatory democracy.'