Telangana’s Bhadrachalam declared a mandal

KHAMMAM: The state government issued a GO on Tuesday officially recognising Bhadrachalam as a mandal.

Earlier, the government had proposed dividing Bhadrachalam major gram panchayat into three panchayats and instructed the officials to send proposals. However, the locals opposed this move and protested. In response, the government released a GO on Tuesday, recognizing Bhadrachalam as a mandal.

Bhadrachalam had been a mandal headquarters, but after the bifurcation of the state, five gram panchayats from Bhadrachalam were merged into Andhra Pradesh, leaving Bhadrachalam alone in Telangana. Out of the 22 gram panchayats in the mandal, 21 went to Andhra Pradesh, and Bhadrachalam remained in Telangana. The mandal area covers 2,200 acres, but no elections have been held for some time, and there was no governance system or funding for development after the merger.