People shower CM with DDs for ryots

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-family:="" arial="">MADAKASIRA, AP: The banks in this small town in Anantapur district set a record of sorts by issuing 10,000 demand drafts (DDs) on Saturday. The sudden rush for DDs—of values ranging from as little as Rs 50 to as much as Rs 1 lakh—was to present them to Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy during his Rajiv Palle Bata tour of this district on Sunday.In the process, YSR, who received DDs worth an aggregate of Rs 10 lakh, appears set to become enemy no. 1 of flower garland makers.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="">So impressed was he by the generosity of the people of this district— even government staff presented him with a DD worth Rs 1 lakh—that he issued a fiat later at a press meet that henceforth there would be no more garlands at any government function or party event.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="">Instead, the money for garlands should be donated to the government in the form of DDs so the cash can be used to foot part of the bill for giving free electricity to farmers.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="">The rush for the DDs was created to a major extent by agriculture minister N Raghuveera Reddy, who represents Madakasira in the Assembly. He sent word across to everyone that this would be a better way of helping farmers than to spend it on buying garlands which are invariably discarded after a cursory acceptance by the VIP.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="">Such was the rush for DDs on Saturday that the four banks here—SBI, Karnataka Bank, Ananta Grameena Bank and the Anantapur District Cooperative Credit Bank— ran out of their DD leaves.</span></div> </div>