Hyderabad: Strongly condemning the Telangana government’s supposed plan to implement a pilot project by engaging the Adani Group to collect electricity bill dues from households in the Old City, AIMIM floor leader and Chandrayangutta MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi asked chief minister Revanth Reddy why such a project couldn’t be implemented in Kodangal, the assembly constituency he represents.
“They are calling us ‘chor’ and that electricity theft is happening in the Old City. But why Old City? To check this theft they want to implement pilot project in the Old City by involving Adani. But why Old City? Why not Kodangal, or in the constituencies represented by Uttam Kumar Reddy or Sridhar Babu,” Akbaruddin Owaisi asked, speaking on the floor of the Assembly during Saturday’s session.
“They only need to poke. But this won’t happen. There is a dire need for welfare and development in the Old City. The development of Laad Bazaar, the development of Charminar Hospital (Nizamia Tibbi Hospital) which has been lying in a dilapidated condition, road widening in the old city, regularisation of services of the Imams of Mecca Masjid and Bagh-e-Aam Masjid is needed. There are many important issues, and the major problem speaker sir, is traffic jam,” Akbaruddin Owaisi said.
However, Revanth Reddy ducked giving the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader an answer on the matter, ignoring Akbaruddin’s comments. The issue of power dues collection by the Adani Group has caused a minor political storm and also concern among residents of the Old City in Hyderabad.
However, it may be noted that the AIMIM has now found a new ‘friendly’ party in the ruling Congress, after the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) lost the Assembly elections last year. Revanth and Akbaruddin Owaisi particularly have been openly made overtures, adding credence to the fact that both sides have made peace, given that the AIMIM at one point was completely against the Congress.
Also expressing his apprehensions in the Telangana government’s “seriousness” in extending the metro rail project in the Old City, Akbaruddin owaisi said that he didn’t attend the foundation-stone laying ceremony of the Old City metro line because he didn’t know which was the implementing agency. He added that he was unsure if anything concrete was happening with regard to the metro rail project there.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy however answered Akbaruddin on the Old City metro, assuring that the extension of the Metro rail network in the Old City will be completed before the next Assembly election.
