Change Polavaram design: Karat

Vijayawada: Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) general secretary Prakash Karat here on Friday asked both the State and the Central governments to change the design of the Polavaram Project.

Speaking at Meet-the-Press programme on his first visit to the city, Karat felt that the present design would displace more people than the benefits expected from it. He wanted the government to review the present design and ensure that the displacement of people and the damage to the socio-economic conditions of the area are minimised.

Karat blamed the Narendra Modi-led NDA government for increasing prices of petroleum products including the cooking gas and also the rail fare. He alleged that the NDA government was continuing the anti-people policies of the previous UPA government. In addition, the NDA was also set to pursue pro-corporate and pro-business houses policies. He said that the indications given by the Prime Minister so far on the economic condition of the country revealed the direction of the NDA’s first budget which would be introduced soon. He also found fault with the soft stand taken by the Modi government towards the surveillance of the US government on India.