Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan expressed his fears of seeing separate state movement in Uttarandhra if the region is neglected by the successive governments. After meeting the intellectuals in Visakhapatnam, the other day, Pawan Kalyan tweeted advising the rulers to concentrate on the development of backward regions.

Pawan Kalyan had made a similar statement when he visited the Rayalaseema districts and later in Vijayawada about the concentration of development in one place. Drawing a parallel between Hyderabad and Amaravati, Pawan Kalyan wanted the government to distribute the fruits of development equally to the 13 districts. He feared a separate movement in Rayalaseema and Uttarandhra on the lines of Telangana.

The three districts of Uttarandhra and the four districts of Rayalaseema have been backward for years, even in the combined Andhra Pradesh. It is for this reason, these seven districts were offered special package at the time of bifurcation. The Central government had released about Rs 350 crore to these seven districts in the first year. Unfortunately the State government had failed to utilise this money for these districts and allegedly spent the money on Amaravati.

This backwardness or neglect of the region might ignite anger of the people. When people in some parts of the state are suffering for lack of basic amenities like drinking water, the people in other parts are enjoying purified mineral water and that would signal a revolt like that of the Telangana. This is what Pawan Kalyan had tweeted and it is for the good of the people that he had cautioned to the rulers.

Ironically, Prakasam district too is a backward district but it did not get any patronage either by the State or the Centre. People from this district are migrating to other places and live away from home leaving children and aged parents at home. If this reality fails to convince the rulers, what Pawan Kalyan said would become a reality if not today.