Whether Dalit bandhu likely to boomerang against govt?

K M Dayashankar

Dalits allege irregularities in the selection of beneficiaries

Only TRS leaders and govt employees selected by authorities neglecting the real beneficiaries and unemployed youth

TRS leaders allege agitations were orchestrated by opposition

Against 20,929 beneficiaries, 5,000 beneficiaries would be sanctioned the scheme at Rs 10 lakh each in first phase

KARIMNAGAR: Whether the ambitious Telangana Dalit Bandhu (TDB), which is all set to be launched on August 16 in Huzurabad assembly segment for the upliftment of the dalit community, is likely to boomerang against the state government?

The present protests and agitations by the dalits demanding that the TDB should be implemented to all the dalits in various parts of the Huzurabad assembly segment is an indication, say the political observers. The dalits are alleging that only the TRS leaders, government employees were securing the scheme and the real beneficiaries including the unemployed were neglected.

Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao had announced the ambitious Telangana Dalit Bandhu scheme for the economic empowerment of the dalits in the Huzurabad assembly on an experimental basis and later extends the scheme to entire state. Accordingly, he had also released Rs 500 crore for the implementation of the scheme in the Huzurabad assembly segment.

Even as the authorities are busy identifying the beneficiaries for the implementation of TDB, protests erupted throughout the assembly segment demanding the implementation of the scheme to all the beneficiaries. Several hundreds of dalits have assembled in front of the Ambedkar statue in Huzurabad town and staged a massive dharna and the traffic stranded on the busy Karimnagar to Warangal road for several hours on Saturday. Similarly, the dalits staged dharna at Papaiahapalli cross roads demanding the implementation of the scheme for all dalits.

The dalits had also staged massive dharnas and even besieged the office of tahsildar in Veenavanka mandal on Friday alleging that the TDB was being implemented only to the TRS rank and file denying the same to the real beneficiaries. The dalits had also protested in front of the Jammikunta tahsildar office alleging that the government employees were also chosen as beneficiaries neglecting the unemployed youth.

In Kandugula village, the villagers stated that there were 250 dalits, but the authorities had selected only seven beneficiaries from the village for the implementation of the scheme. On the other hand, SC samagra abhivridhi sadhana samithi (SCs comprehensive development struggle committee) has launched relay hunger strike in Huzurabad town demanding the implementation of dalit bandhu to all the dalits in the segment.

On the other hand, the Rajaka sangham (washermen community) and other economically poorer sections have also launched their agitations demanding the government to implement the TDB to all the eligible poor for their economic activities.  Ridiculing the agitations, the TRS leaders alleged that the artificial agitations were orchestrated by the opposition parties as they were scared of wiping out of the state with the implementation of the scheme.

In the meantime, the district officials have clarified that the scheme would be implemented to 5,000 beneficiaries in the first phase at the rate of Rs 10 lakhs each against the total of 20,929 beneficiaries in the assembly segment. They said that the TDB would be launched by Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on August 16 at Shalapalli village in Huzurabad mandal and later it would be continued throughout the segment and cover all the beneficiaries.

hindudayashankar