<p>The town of Bhadrachalam, where Lord Ram is believed to have spent some time during his 14-year exile, has become the latest flashpoint between leaders from Telangana and Seemandhra. <br /><br /></p>.<p>It is also home to the 17th-century Sree Seetha Ramachandra Swamy Temple, built by Kancharla Ramadasa, an ardent devotee of Lord Ram and a renowned composer of Carnatic music.<br /><br />A strong demand from Seemandhra leaders, that the temple town be taken away from Telangana, has triggered a storm of sorts within the Congress. On the other hand, a delegation of leaders from Telangana will on Monday meet the Group of Ministers responsible for bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and creation of a separate Telangana state, and plead strongly to reject the Seemandhra leaders' demand.<br /><br />Bhadrachalam was initially a part of the erstwhile state of Hyderabad and in the present-day Seemandhra region, but during the creation of Andhra Pradesh in 1956, it was merged with Khammam district, which falls in the Telangana region. Seemandhra leaders have been demanding that the pre-1956 situation be restored when a separate Telangana state is carved out by an Act of Parliament. “We will not allow an inch of land to be taken from the Telangana region. Bhadrachalam is [art of the Khammam district of Telangana and it should remain so,” former All India Congress Committee secretary P Sudhakar Reddy told Deccan Herald. Ponnam Prabhakar, a Lok Sabha member from Karimnagar in the Telangana region, added, “All we want is a separate Telangana state comprising 10 districts, which includes Khammam as it is today.”<br /><br />Union minister Porika Balram Naik has already shot off letters to Congress president Sonia Gandhi demanding that Bhadrachalam remain a part of Khammam.<br /><br />According Reddy, official records state that the Bhadrachalam Revenue Division was under British rule from 1768 to 1925 initially as part of the Godavari district and later as part of the West Godavari district under the Madras Presidency.<br /><br />In 1959, the Bhadrachalam Revenue Division, comprising Bhadrachalam and Nuguru Venkatapuram taluks of the East Godavari district, were merged with Khammam on grounds of geographical contiguity and administrative viability. <br /><br />In 1985, following the introduction of the “mandal” system, the district was divided into 46 mandals under four revenue divisions — Khammam, Kothagudem, Paloncha and Bhadrachalam.<br /><br />Leaders from Telangana and Seemandhra have already been engaged in a tussle over control of Hyderabad, with Telangana leaders making it clear that the IT hub could be a joint capital of the two states only for a few years.</p>
<p>The town of Bhadrachalam, where Lord Ram is believed to have spent some time during his 14-year exile, has become the latest flashpoint between leaders from Telangana and Seemandhra. <br /><br /></p>.<p>It is also home to the 17th-century Sree Seetha Ramachandra Swamy Temple, built by Kancharla Ramadasa, an ardent devotee of Lord Ram and a renowned composer of Carnatic music.<br /><br />A strong demand from Seemandhra leaders, that the temple town be taken away from Telangana, has triggered a storm of sorts within the Congress. On the other hand, a delegation of leaders from Telangana will on Monday meet the Group of Ministers responsible for bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and creation of a separate Telangana state, and plead strongly to reject the Seemandhra leaders' demand.<br /><br />Bhadrachalam was initially a part of the erstwhile state of Hyderabad and in the present-day Seemandhra region, but during the creation of Andhra Pradesh in 1956, it was merged with Khammam district, which falls in the Telangana region. Seemandhra leaders have been demanding that the pre-1956 situation be restored when a separate Telangana state is carved out by an Act of Parliament. “We will not allow an inch of land to be taken from the Telangana region. Bhadrachalam is [art of the Khammam district of Telangana and it should remain so,” former All India Congress Committee secretary P Sudhakar Reddy told Deccan Herald. Ponnam Prabhakar, a Lok Sabha member from Karimnagar in the Telangana region, added, “All we want is a separate Telangana state comprising 10 districts, which includes Khammam as it is today.”<br /><br />Union minister Porika Balram Naik has already shot off letters to Congress president Sonia Gandhi demanding that Bhadrachalam remain a part of Khammam.<br /><br />According Reddy, official records state that the Bhadrachalam Revenue Division was under British rule from 1768 to 1925 initially as part of the Godavari district and later as part of the West Godavari district under the Madras Presidency.<br /><br />In 1959, the Bhadrachalam Revenue Division, comprising Bhadrachalam and Nuguru Venkatapuram taluks of the East Godavari district, were merged with Khammam on grounds of geographical contiguity and administrative viability. <br /><br />In 1985, following the introduction of the “mandal” system, the district was divided into 46 mandals under four revenue divisions — Khammam, Kothagudem, Paloncha and Bhadrachalam.<br /><br />Leaders from Telangana and Seemandhra have already been engaged in a tussle over control of Hyderabad, with Telangana leaders making it clear that the IT hub could be a joint capital of the two states only for a few years.</p>
