Industrialise Rayalaseema

The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh has once again promised to develop Andhra Pradesh into an industrial hub. The industrial development of Rayalaseema region is important for economic and political reasons.

The region is highly underdeveloped despite producing many Chief Ministers in the united State, known for their unassailable leadership. The non-availability of water resources rendered the agriculture of this region unviable and unsustainable.

Meanwhile, the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh raised new concerns and apprehensions among the people of Rayalaseema. The capital-centred development model vigorously pursued by the new regime in the residuary State of Andhra Pradesh is sowing seeds of alienation and skepticism in Rayalaseema.

This has a potential to sprout politically and can even threaten the integrity of the remaining State of Andhra Pradesh if early action that instills confidence in the aggrieved people is not taken. The factionists appropriated the rich mineral resources, condemning the people to abominable levels of poverty and deprivation.

In turn, the faction-dominated political leadership used the unemployment in the region to bolster their ranks. Even the legislative committee that probed this menace highlighted the exploitation of mineral resources by the factionists.

Rayalaseema is home to huge deposits of barytes. World's largest single deposit with an estimate reserve of 70 million tonnes of grey barytes is at Mangampet in Kadapa district. In addition to these, there are a number of snow white and white vein type barytes deposits in Anantapur and Kurnool districts.

Mangampet barytes with grade 92% BaSo4 and an average specific gravity of 4.21 is used in oil & gas well drilling. The other grades are catering to the needs of chemical and paint industries. The Mangampet low grade barytes is amenable to beneficiate high grade ore to specific requirement and recovery of by-products.

Setting up of barites-based industries to create value addition can significantly contribute to the industrial development of backward districts of Rayalseema region. The region has large deposits of limestone which is used as a raw material in cement industry.

With the rising of Amaravati, the State is to witness a massive boom in construction, thereby creating a huge demand for cement. Dhone in Kurnool, Yerraguntla in Kadapa and Tadipatri in Anantapur districts can be a triangle hub of cement production.

Dolomite is found in Kurnool, Anantapur and Kadapa districts, providing a large scope for dolomite-based industries. Diamond-bearing areas are spread over all the four districts of Rayalaseema. A number of gold-bearing green stone schist belts occur in the entire region.

There are a number of occurrences of semi-precious and abrasive stones in Anantapur, Kadapa and Kurnool districts. Copper, lead and zinc are found in Kadapa and Kurnool districts. Iron ore is found in Kurnool, Anantapur, Chittoor districts which can be exploited to set up steel plants.

Hindupur and Tirupati can be developed into IT hubs, given their proximity to Bengaluru and Chennai respectively. Kurnool can be developed into an aerospace and defence industrial hub. Thus, the industrial potential can be harnessed for the all-round development of this region.