Karuvadi Ganesh, 32, endures a gruelling four-hour commute between Kuppam, his hometown in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, and Bengaluru in Karnataka, every day to support his family of four on a modest monthly income of ₹18,000 as an electrician. For the past decade, this ITI diploma-holder has missed sunrises and sunsets in his native place, catching only fleeting glimpses during his daily train rides. On weekdays, securing a seat in the general compartment determines whether he sees the view or not.
Ganesh’s story mirrors the struggle of thousands, from youth to those in their 60s, due to a lack of job opportunities in Kuppam. “Unemployment in Kuppam is consuming people of all ages. Our smart-looking second-hand jackets conceal the shabby clothes beneath,” he says.
Jayanthi, 55, also makes the long commute to Bengaluru daily, as she works as a sanitation worker at a shopping mall in that city. She boards the Howrah-Bengaluru Superfast Express from Kuppam at 4.45 am and returns home by the Bengaluru-Jollarpettai MEMU Express at 7.30 pm. The last time she saw the sun in Kuppam was on Sankranthi festival in January. “I feel happy to see the sight on my way to work. Both my sons are drunkards. No girl is willing to marry them. My husband, who gets an old age pension, also drains the amount on alcohol,” she says.
Nearly 15,000 people use the railway stations of Kuppam, Mallanuru, Gudupalle, and Bisanattam in Chittoor district as their starting point to reach Malur and Bengaluru in Karnataka on a daily basis, hoping to earn a good income by late evening. Most of them work as daily wage earners, such as electricians, plumbers, construction labourers and sanitation workers. Women also join the workforce, trying their luck as housemaids in Bengaluru city and its suburbs. The ratio of daily to weekly commuters is almost equal, with about four trains catering to their needs in both directions.
History of ignorance and neglect
The issue of unemployment at this tri-state junction, bordered by Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, did not surface overnight; it has persisted since the pre-independence era. Besides, Kuppam has long faced an identity crisis, with many people unaware of its precise location and significance.
When Telugu Desam Party founder N.T. Rama Rao arrived in Kuppam riding his ‘Chaitanya Ratham’ (a modified Chevrolet van) for electioneering in the 1980s, people in the eastern parts of the then-combined Chittoor district thought he was campaigning in Tamil Nadu.
Again, when N. Chandrababu Naidu, the current TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, became Kuppam MLA in 1989, many believed he had won from somewhere in Tamil Nadu. Naidu’s victory from Kuppam in 1994 made little news. It was only in August 1995 that people realised Kuppam was part of Andhra Pradesh, within Chittoor district, as Naidu led the movement to oust Rama Rao, his father-in-law, from power. On September 1, 1995, Naidu took charge as the Chief Minister of united Andhra Pradesh and the once-obscure Kuppam was catapulted to the status of a VVIP constituency.
“If not for Naidu, Kuppam would have still been a jungle between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. There may be a thousand allegations against him and that he did nothing to address unemployment in the region, but it is because of Naidu that jungle paths have turned into motorable roads, connecting Kuppam with neighbouring states,” says a retired professor of Dravidian University in Kuppam, requesting anonymity.
Prodded further, he adds, “Earlier, the entire workforce of Kuppam constituency used to be engaged in agricultural activities. Now, they are working elsewhere, doing vocational jobs. We should not blame Naidu for our predicament, but it is true that he did not take the unemployment problem seriously.”
Even three decades after Naidu became Chief Minister, the Kuppam region has only one government degree college. Residents have begun comparing Kuppam with places like Piler in Annamayya district, represented by former chief minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, and Kadapa and Pulivendula (in YSR district, held by the family of ex-chief minister Y.S.Rajasekhara Reddy), which witnessed fast-paced infrastructural development during their respective tenures.
Piler boasts multiple defence institutions and the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (Kalikiri campus, Chittoor), along with extensive road development. Kadapa has transformed from a modest town into a thriving city in terms of educational and medical institutions. Pulivendula has also had its fair share of growth. As for Kuppam, however, the aspirations of its residents for improved educational facilities and job opportunities remain largely unfulfilled.
Tradition of migration
Kuppam constituency, spread over Kuppam, Ramakuppam, Gudupalle, and Shantipuram mandals, in addition to Kuppam municipality, has about 2.3 lakh voters. Plagued by rural poverty, lack of irrigation waters, and limited job opportunities, the youth have adopted a tradition of migrating to Bengaluru, Chennai, and other cities in neighbouring states in search of employment. Between the 1950s and 1970s, hundreds of families permanently relocated to north-western Tamil Nadu to work in tanneries.
Similarly, between the 1980s and 2000s, many others made their way to the mining region of Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) in Karnataka before it was shut down on February 28, 2001, owing to high operational costs and low revenues. Despite the passage of time, subsequent generations on both sides have maintained familial ties.
At the turn of the 21st century, Kuppam anticipated growth in micro-irrigation, sericulture, horticulture, and floriculture. However, after Naidu lost power in 2004, the constituency slipped into neglect, dashing high hopes of its residents. Although Naidu returned to power in residual Andhra Pradesh in 2014 (with Telangana becoming a separate State), much of his focus shifted to ambitious projects such as Amaravati as the new greenfield capital city and Polavaram, a multi-purpose irrigation project on Godavari river, leaving Kuppam forsaken.
Naidu’s political career is closely intertwined with Kuppam’s industrial development. During his tenure, he established Industrial Park-I in 2000, featuring an aluminum factory and later, a few garment industries. However, his exit in 2004 halted their expansion and deterred new industry arrivals. The narrow roads between Palamaner and Kuppam, and Kuppam and Bengaluru further discouraged industrialists from setting up proposed units in the region.
With existing industries supporting only about 4,000 jobs, many locals were compelled to migrate to nearby Bengaluru, just two hours away. Perennial drought conditions in the region did not support major crops such as paddy and groundnut, allowing for limited cultivation of flowers and vegetables, sustaining only a fraction of the population.
Upon returning to power in 2014, Naidu oversaw the establishment of two more industrial parks in Kuppam — at Tambuganipalle village and Pogurupalle — spanning 7,000 acres. Yet, these parks have yet to see reasonable progress. Local intellectuals estimate that fully developing these three industrial parks could directly benefit around 6,000 families.
Between 2019 and 2024, the YSR Congress Party government prioritised political agendas over infrastructure development, leaving Kuppam residents disillusioned. “The vinyl printing industry thrived in Bengaluru due to the dominance of political hoardings in Kuppam over the past five years,” remarks a senior Revenue department official from the area.
Renewed hope in hearts
With Naidu once again at the centre of powernow, thousands of daily wage workers commuting to Bengaluru are fervently hoping for change. Their journeys, packed into overcrowded trains at odd hours, with many sitting on coach floors, vestibules, and footboards, are nothing short of a perilous undertaking.
Just two weeks ago, a young man from Ramakuppam mandal in Chittoor district rushing to catch a train in Kuppam, lost his life while crossing the tracks, struck by a goods train and thrown a hundred metres away. He had landed a lucrative IT job in Bengaluru and was headed to work when the accident took place. “Over the past decade, close to 100 daily wage workers have lost their lives on the tracks between Bengaluru and Kuppam. Many of them were absent-minded due to sleep deprivation. Overcrowding in trains and hastily crossing the tracks were the other reasons,” explains Lakshmi Narayana, a senior journalist in Kuppam.
Karunakar, a former daily wage worker in Malur, now runs a garment store in Bengaluru but continues to commute to Kuppam on weekends. Reflecting on his past, he shares a poignant tale of love and loss. During his daily commute between Malur and Bengaluru between 2010 and 2014, he says he fell in love with a girl from Kuppam working at a textile showroom.
“We travelled by the same train for a couple of years. Though my stop used to come earlier, I would accompany her till Kuppam. Her parents were not in favour of our marriage, but we were determined to overcome all obstacles. Once, on a rainy evening, she got down at Gudupalle station, just after Kuppam, to visit a family friend. She was run over by a superfast express while crossing the tracks. I learnt about her death only the next day. I vowed to never marry. I am well settled now, but her memory haunts me every day,” he shares.
A. Mahesh, chief administrator of Kuppam Public School and closely involved in organising cultural programmes during government functions in Kuppam, emphasises the need for sincere government efforts to tackle the region’s unemployment issues.
“There is already a proposal to bring all private and government degree colleges in Chittoor district under Dravidian University, our sole university. Its expansion plans could potentially create at least 1,000 jobs and provide livelihood to numerous families in the surrounding areas,” he says.
Jagadeesh Babu, a senior lecturer at Government Vocational Junior College in Kuppam, advocates for the establishment of more government junior and degree colleges in the constituency to address dropout rates and reduce the number of unskilled workers. “In an agrarian belt like Kuppam, the presence of private educational institutions would only burden economically disadvantaged students, leading to higher dropout rates,” he cautions.
TDP’s Kuppam in-charge and Member of Legislative Council, Kancharla Srikanth now serves as the sole representative of the region for the State government. Naidu appointed him as his deputy in Kuppam, encouraging residents to approach him with their concerns for resolution. “Now that the atrocious rule of YSR Congress Party has ended, the golden days of Kuppam have begun,” says Srikanth.
The MLC maintains that the Chief Minister’s primary goal is to eradicate poverty in Kuppam. To tackle unemployment effectively, special skills training will be provided to youth and other residents alike. “We will create job opportunities on a large scale in the region. Dairy farming, poultry, sheep rearing, and honey production will be encouraged. The potential of the horticulture sector would be tapped by setting up food processing industries. Most importantly, the Chief Minister has a dream of transforming Kuppam into an education hub. And that will be realised in a phased manner,” explains Srikanth.
In addition to that, plans include bringing back to life the airport project for Kuppam, which is expected to stimulate the region’s business dynamics. The Kuppam Area Development Authority has already begun its revival efforts.
“The Chief Minister has proposed the construction of a four-lane road between Palamaner and Kuppam, and a double road from Kuppam to Krishnagiri via Vepanapalle. This will create a conducive environment for industrialists to invest in Kuppam. Dairy development and agro-based industries will be given a fillip. Over the next five years, we hope to improve Kuppam’s entrepreneurial potential,” he adds.
