Warangal: Public demand to reunify Warangal and Hanamkonda districts has been growing. In 2016, the previous BRS government divided the historic Warangal district into six smaller districts, splitting the main city into Warangal and Hanamkonda. Many residents of the tri city area, Warangal, Hanamkonda, and Kazipet, see themselves as part of a single urban entity and have long protested the division, which has created administrative confusion: Warangal remains the commercial hub, while Hanamkonda houses government offices and educational institutions, forcing residents to commute between the two.
Now, Telangana activists, academics, intellectuals, and local political leaders, in partnership with the Telangana Udhyamakarala Vedika and the Forum for Better Warangal, are launching a major movement to reverse the split. They accuse the BRS government of making an unscientific division driven by political and business interests, which they say has stunted the city’s development and hurt local sentiments.
During the last Assembly elections, Congress promised to review the district reorganisation, but two years have passed with no action. As public pressure mounts, protesters plan to meet Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy to submit a formal demand for reunification.
Prof. Kurapati Venkatnarayana, convener of the Telangana Udhyamakaralu Vedika, told the Deccan Chronicle that the 2016 division lacked any scientific basis and hindered the district’s overall growth. Local youth, he said, suffer from limited job opportunities in the smaller districts.
B.C. forum state leader S. Narendar highlighted Warangal’s status as Telangana’s second-largest city and a key industrial and educational hub. He noted the impending opening of an airport at Mamnoor and argued that no benefits have emerged from having two separate districts; reunification, he said, would best serve the people.
Dr T. Rajeshwar Rao, former mayor of the Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation, urged civil society to unite behind the cause, emphasising the tri-city’s unique identity and history. He accused the previous administration of dividing the district to stifle development and political awareness.
Ruling party representatives have also voiced support for merging the districts and pledged to raise the issue with Chief Minister Revanth Reddy.
