Minister for agriculture, Mr N. Raghuveera Reddy, said the host of welfare schemes being implemented by the state government had given party leaders and even government officials boldness to face people in the month-long Praja Padam programme. Mr Raghuveera Reddy said people were contented unlike under the Telugu Desam (TD) rule when they gheraoed officials and peoples' representatives. The Praja Padam meetings had been conducted in more than 1,000 panchayats. The minister also expressed happiness that there was no distress migration due to the successful implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme. He said the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, was able to formulate schemes such as Arogyasri, subsidised rice scheme, housing, free power to farmers, crop insurance, pensions and introduction of ambulance services 108 and 104 to every nook and corner of panchayats as he had felt the pulse of people during his Praja Prasthanam which catapulted him to power. Earlier, the joint collector, Mr T. Chiranjeevulu, who presided over the function, said during the Praja Padam, 546 drinking water related problems had been identified and estimates prepared for the relevant drinking water schemes and forwarded to the government. Mr Chiranjeevulu said 5.46 lakh Arogyasri cards were given to white card holders, seven hours of power supply was ensured and there were no complaints at the Praja Padam. He said the ambulance services had proved to be a great boon to the rural populace especially sick people and pregnant women and even emergency patients. The joint collector said Rs 950 crore worth crop loans were waived in the district. Anantapur Lok Sabha member, Mr Anantha Venkatarama Reddy, while praising officials and peoples' representatives for the successful completion of the Praja Padam, warned Left parties that their opportunistic policies would result in their total eclipse. Zilla parishad chairperson, Ms T. Kavitha, said the Chief Minister was known to solve problems effectively. Later, Mr Raghuveera Reddy, distributed assets worth Rs 34 crore through 11 government departments. Several legislators and city mayor, Mr R. Parasuram, participated. The government arranged RTC buses to bring women of self-help groups in large numbers.