Warangal: Think of a model village in Telangana and what comes to mind is Ankapur in Nizamabad or Gangadevipally in Warangal. But now another village is fast catching up.
Varikole, some eight km from Parkal town in Warangal Rural district, has seen remarkable development in the shortest span of time, thanks to the untiring efforts of Pochampally Srinivas Reddy, an MLC from the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).
A couple of years ago, Varikole hit headlines when it banned illicitly distilled liquor. It then made history by unanimously electing all women as ward members and for the Sarpanch post in 2019. But it’s not just these social changes that it was bringing in.
Simultaneously, the village, which has a population of over 5,000, of which most are engaged in farming, also embarked upon development in mission mode. A mind-boggling sum of money was spent on upgrading roads and taking up beautification works to make the village stand out.
“We spent anywhere between Rs 120 crore and Rs 150 crore on development works in the village during last three years,” says Srinivas Reddy.
Cement top roads have been laid inside the village while BT roads connect Varikole to Narlapur and Chinthalapally. A two-lane road from Varikole to Puligalla village was also laid, providing excellent connectivity to the village.
Also, when it comes to fiscal prudence, Varikole is a step ahead. “Probably, we are the only Gram Panchayat in the district to have a surplus budget of Rs 30 lakh,” says Sarpanch Sadu Nirmala Sammi Reddy. The Gram Panchayat has built a ‘Vaikuntadhamam’ and is now setting up ‘Palle Prakruthi Vanam’, which will open soon.
Also read:
Warangal Rural: Spiritual fervour pervades model village Varikole
Now you can get handpicked stories from Telangana Today on Telegram everyday. Click the link to subscribe.
Click to follow Telangana Today Facebook page and Twitter .