Antony panel to visit Hyd

• CM highlights problems from bifurcation
• Discussions to continue, says Diggy
• UT status for Hyd not discussed: Pallamraju
• T Cong MPs meet PM, want T process speeded up

Hyderabad/New Delhi: Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, the union ministers as well as MPs from Seemandhra region succeeded in convincing the Antony Committee over the need to come to the state and hear the version of the people, employees and students from the region.

Kiran is said to have once again highlighted the problems that would arise from bifurcation of the state. He gave a detailed explanation about the problems in sharing of river waters and how each region was dependent on the other. He said division of the state would create several new problems in the long run. Kiran also explained how the agitation had been growing day by day.

The Chief Minister is understood to have explained in detail that as it is, Andhra Pradesh does not get water that is due to it legally from Tungabhadra in Karnataka. If one more border was drawn up, without settling the water-sharing issue, Rayalaseema would be denied its due water share.

Lack of water would hamper hydro-electric power generation as well, it was pointed out. Power units on Kurnool side would have to be operated from the limited water allocated for drinking water, irrigation and hydro-power generation. Agriculture will also suffer a serious setback. The traditional rice bowl lies in the Seemandhra region. Now if that region is denied water, agriculture will be severely affected.

It is only when all the irrigation projects are completed that additional 34 lakh acres of land could be brought under irrigation and that is a long way to go. Kiran will be meeting the Union Home Minister on Wednesday. Talking to media after the nearly one-hour long meeting, Digvijay Singh said that the discussions would continue. He is also learnt to have told them that he would apprise AICC president Sonia Gandhi about the issues raised by the Chief Minister and ministers at today’s meeting after she returns to New Delhi from US where she had gone for treatment. When asked about the statement made by Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde about presenting the cabinet note in 20 days, Digvijay said that as far as he knew Shinde did not say so. It was a media creation.

Union Minister Pallam Raju said that they had explained the ground level situation in Seemandhra region to the committee and how the agitation was going on for the past 35 days. They told the committee that a strong feeling was gaining ground that the Centre was going ahead with the process of bifurcation without considering the plea of the people of Seemandhra region and this would prove to be disastrous for the party in the 2014 elctions. Following this, the committee had agreed to come to Hyderabad.

Asked if the issue of making Hyderabad as Union Territory was discussed, Pallam Raju said that nothing of that sort figured in during the meeting. It may be mentioned that earlier PTI had put up a story indicating that the Centre was considering such a proposal

Among those who attended the meeting were Union Ministers M M Pallam Raju, Kavuri Sambasiva Rao, K Chiranjeevi, K Surya Prakash Reddy, D Purandeswari and J D Seelam, besides Congress MPs like K Bapi Raju, L Rajagopal, K V P Ramachander Rao, Sai Pratap and Ananta Venkatram Reddy were prominent among those present on the occasion.

On the other hand, Congress MPs from Telangana region called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and appealed to him to speed up the process of creating a Telangana State. They are learnt to have made it clear that no other proposal like UT would be acceptable to them.