People from Rajam and Cheepurupalli are demanding Revenue Division status ahead of a complicated carving out of districts in the State — an exercise that is proposed to be undertaken soon.
Rajam town, currently part of Srikakulam district and falling under Palakonda revenue division, is proposed to be merged with Vizianagaram district. The Palakonda revenue division itself is proposed to be conjoined with Parvatipuram revenue division from the existing Vizianagaram district to create the new district of Manyam.
With Palakonda set to be part of Manyam district and Parvatipuram becoming the district headquarters, the government has proposed to make Bobbili the new revenue division in Vizianagaram district of which Rajam would be a part. This has not gone down well with the people of Rajam, as Bobbili is almost 60 km away.
Rajam Sadhana Samiti leaders Penki Chaitanya Kumar, Sasapu Ramesh Kumar, and Kotta Sai Prasanth Kumar, who are leading the agitation, said that the people of Vangara, Regidi, and Santakaviti would face hardships in travelling to Bobbili as there is no proper bus connectivity.
“Rajam is one of the important industrial towns in this region. Turning it into a revenue division would help over five lakh people,” Mr. Chaitanya said. Meanwhile, agitations continued in Cheepurupalli as well for revenue division status.
TDP Vizianagaram Parliamentary wing president Kimidi Nagarjuna said that the demand for a revenue division has been there for almost three decades. “Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development Botcha Satyanarayana, who represents the Cheepurupalli Assembly constituency, should take an initiative to convert it into a revenue division as it is the wish of the people of the constituency,” Mr. Nagarjuna said.
