Amaravati 

Construction of buildings along the Krishna river bed in alleged violation of environmental laws

Polavaram irrigation project

Power Purchase Agreements

The YS Jaganmohan Reddy government is completing a checklist of all decisions taken by the predecessor Telugu Desam regime. Next on the list seems a probe into the stampede during the Godavari Pushkar in July 2015 in Rajahmundry in which 29 people were killed. And going by the utterances of YSRCP leaders, a chorus is building up demanding an investigation.

On 14 July, the anniversary of the tragedy, YSRCP MP from Rajahmundry Margani Bharat appealed to the chief minister to order a fresh probe into the incident. And on Wednesday, MLA Jogi Ramesh renewed the demand asking the government to investigate the reasons why the stampede took place.

But even while making the demand, Ramesh was clear in his mind who the culprit was. Pointing a finger at Chandrababu Naidu who was present in the House, Ramesh shot repeated barbs at the documentary shoot that was reportedly undertaken on the morning of the stampede. It was widely believed that Naidu and his family took longer than usual at the bathing ghat where filmmaker Boyapati Srinivas was filming the event. The crowd outside got restless and pushed its way inside through the narrow gate, resulting in the stampede and the deaths. 

“Did Naidu think that he would shoot a film like Baahubali while he took a holy dip and use it for publicity,” taunted Jogi Ramesh. 

The Naidu regime had appointed a one-man commission in September 2015 but it blamed the publicity given by the media for the deaths, claiming that the then CM was not even present at the ghat when the incident took place. 

“The media, preachers, seers, almanac pundits told the people that taking a dip at 6.26 am on 14 July would bring good tidings for the devotees. The people were consumed by that blind faith and got worried that if they missed the time, the trip to the Pushkar would be pointless. That led to the stampede,” the report had stated. 

The YSRCP, then in the opposition, had rejected the report calling it an eyewash and designed to protect the CM.