Demand for Parkal district gets shriller

Warangal: It seems that MLA Challa Dharma Reddy is facing more political heat than leaders in the poll bound Huzurabad Assembly constituency with the Parkal residents intensifying their stir for Amaraveerula Jilla (Martyrs' District). Of late, Challa is up against a huge criticism that he was more occupied with the affairs of Huzurabad by-poll where a galaxy of TRS leaders burning midnight oil to stave off the challenge posed by the BJP's Eatala Rajender instead of addressing the people's problems in his constituency.

The demand for Parkal district exists since the State Government had reorganised districts in 2016. The demand resurfaced recently when the government took up the process of renaming and rejigging Warangal Urban and Rural districts last month. The Amaraveerula Jilla Sadhana JAC contends that though Parkal was a Taluq headquarters early in the independent India, the successive governments ignored it. The JAC says that the government which ignored their demand tried to satisfy the locals by making Parkal a revenue division then.

Speaking to The Hans India, Amaraveerula Jilla Sadhana JAC Convener, Pitta Veeraswamy said, "The government ignored our agitation for a separate district with Parkal as its headquarters in 2016. Now, the government wants to reshuffle Urban and Rural districts by renaming them as Hanamkonda and Warangal. Why not Parkal be made a district instead of splitting Warangal into two – Warangal and Hanamkonda?"

"When we urged the MLA Challa Dharma Reddy, he was silent and was unwilling to support the locals' demand," he said, stating that much smaller towns like Mulugu and Bhupalpally have become district headquarters leaving Parkal high and dry.

Meanwhile, the JAC's agitation for a separate district entered 19th day on Sunday. On the other hand, to counter the JAC's stir, the TRS leaders have also gotten into the action by carrying out a peace rally in the town. They accused Congress and BJP of instigating the JAC to create ruckus in the constituency.

It may be noted here that locals' demand for Amaraveerula Jilla has a reason to mention. The Razakars affiliated to the Nizam government ambushed those who wanted to hoist the Indian flag and fired at them killing about 13 persons at Parkal on September 2, 1947. Their patriotic desire had ended in a massacre.