BRS leaders stopped from visiting Palvancha power station, tension prevails

Paloncha ( Kothagudem ) : Tension prevailed in Paloncha on Thursday when police stopped a group of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leaders from proceeding to the Kothagudem Thermal Power Station (KTPS) as part of the party’s statewide fact-finding exercise on the power situation

BRS Parliamentary Party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Vaddiraju Ravichandra, former minister Vanama Venkateswara Rao, former MLA Mecha Nageswara Rao and former Bhadradri Kothagudem district library organisation chairman Dindigala Rajender were among those who reached Palvancha along with party workers.

The BRS had announced that its teams would visit major thermal power stations across Telangana to assess power generation, coal availability, unit shutdowns and other operational issues amid concerns raised by the party over electricity supply in the state. The Kothagudem team was led by Ravichandra and included leaders

However, when the leaders and party workers proceeded towards the power station, a large number of police personnel intercepted them and prevented them from moving ahead. The move led to a tense situation at the spot, with BRS leaders and police engaging in an argument over the proposed visit.

The BRS leaders maintained that the visit was intended to assess the functioning of the power station and gather information on coal supplies and power generation. The party had earlier said that its teams would submit their findings and make the details public.

Before proceeding towards the power station, Ravichandra, Vanama, Mecha and other leaders paid floral tributes to the statue of Bharat Ratna Dr B R Ambedkar.

The inspection programme was announced by BRS working president K T Rama Rao on Wednesday. The party constituted six teams to visit the Yadadri, Kothagudem, Bhadradri and Kakatiya thermal power stations, the Singareni thermal plant at Jaipur and the Singareni headquarters in Hyderabad.

The BRS has alleged that inadequate coal supplies, lower generation and shutdowns at some thermal units were contributing to difficulties in power supply. The party has also raised questions over coal supplies and the financial dealings between Singareni Collieries Company Ltd and Telangana GENCO. These are allegations made by the BRS and have not been independently established.

The state government, meanwhile, has also reviewed the power situation. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy directed officials to ensure that the Yadadri Thermal Power Station operates at full installed capacity before Dasara. Officials told the government that the plant requires G9-grade coal, while Singareni does not currently produce sufficient quantities of the required grade.

The developments at Palvancha came amid an ongoing political exchange between the ruling Congress and the BRS over the state’s power sector. Police presence was strengthened around the power station as the BRS delegation sought to proceed with its inspection.

No details of any major physical clash were available in the reports reviewed, though the stoppage of the delegation resulted in a tense confrontation between the police and BRS leaders.

Ends

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

PV Satyanarayana

PV Satyanarayana[email protected]

P.V.Satyanarayana is a journalist with an experience of 20years. PV Satyanarayans has completed his post-graduation in MSc (Mathematics) from Allahabad University. Interested in writing *Feature Stories and political stories Hobbies: Reading Newspapers and listening to songs.

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