Rosaiah's visit to flood-hit areas goes awry

Rosaiah's three-day visit from October 11 to flood-hit areas in Kurnool, Guntur and Krishna districts turned out to be a bitter experience after angry people stopped his convoy at many places, shouted slogans against him, and even stoned the bus he was traveling in in Kurnool district.

Rosaiah was forced to cut short his trip due to the protests and returned to Hyderabad from Vijaywada on Tuesday.

Most people alleged that they had not been getting relief material, while some said the relief had been inadequate. At some places, protestors asked the chief minister to step down from his bus and visit the flooded localities and their destroyed houses.

The police, finding it hard to control the crowd, did not allow the CM to get down.

People in Guptanagar area of Krishna Lanka blocked Rosaiah's vehicle. Angered by this, the chief minister decided to cancel other visits and returned to Hyderabad on Tuesday.

At Avanigadda in Krishna district, an old woman shouted at the chief minister, "What should I do with your rice and kerosene oil when I don't have a single utensil at my home? Should I sprinkle the keorsene and set myself ablaze?" Taken aback by the outburst, the chief minister reportedly moved ahead.

At some places, the chief minister spoke to the people from the bus saying, "I will do whatever is possible to help you."

This was Rosaiah's first visit to the districts after he accepted the office on September 2, after the death of highly popular former chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy. At many places, people were heard shouting that had YSR been alive, they would not have faced such a situation.

The stone-throwing incident in Kurnool has turned into a political controversy within the Congress. State Congress president D Srinivas has called the attacks "deliberate", while supporters of YSR's son Jaganmohan Reddy have expressed anger over the remark.