Cost of Paada Yathra and other Agitations

Chandra Babu Naidu, the ex-Chief Minister and TDP Chief, in his bid to regain power, is on a Paada Yaatra. He realized that the late YSR got into the Chief Minister’s seat thanks to his Paada Yaatra. So in a desperate bid to regain his seat, Naidu thought that he would emulate YSR and so he started on his own yatra of about 2000 kms against YSR’s 1400 kms. Of course, YSR did his yatra in mid-summer Naidu’s is in midwinter which takes away the sheen though it is 50% longer.It is estimated by TDP that it costs more than Rs 1 lakh for each kilometer of Naidu’s yatra – for the vehicles, the support staff, etc. which means that for the 2000 kms it could cost Rs 20 crores plus.

All agitations cost money. KCR, the TRS chief has been organizing VantaVarpu, dances, clothes washing festivals etc on highways, spending untold crores of rupees. He has been calling for bandhs as frequently as it pleases him causing loss of crores of rupees to the pubic and resulting in plunging the lakhs of daily wage earners who have to engage in hard labour to have a morsel, in absolute misery. And of course there are the political suicides – whether triggered by YSR’s death or demand for separate Telengana which costs the people quite a lot of money because of disruption of transport, bandhs, etc and the inevitable compensation to the vistim’s family by the government and political parties

India has the reputation of being a POOR country. But all these TAMASHAS are costing the public and the government and others very much, but nobody seems to mind it. It appears as if all involved – or, not involved – seem to think that it is not a drain but that the drama enlivens people