Farmers from the Amaravati region who had parted with their land for the construction of the capital city staged protests on July 24 (Monday) even as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy laid foundation stone for the construction of houses for the poor under the Pedalandariki Illu scheme in the R5 Zone. They also released black balloons and wore black clothes as a mark of their protest over the government’s decision.
The farmers had parted with their agricultural lands under the Land Pooling Scheme (LPS) for the construction of the capital during the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) regime.
They have been protesting even since Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy announced the decision of the government to set up three capitals — Legislative capital at Amaravati, Executive capital in Visakhapatnam and Judicial capital in Kurnool. The TDP also extended support to the farmers’ protest.
Stating that the government gave land to the weaker sections instead of developing the capital city as per the Master Plan, Amaravati Farmers’ JAC Convener P. Sudhakar said that they were not against the interests of the poor. However, they were demanding justice for the farmers who had parted with their land. The State government should develop the returnable lands of farmers and ensure justice, he said.
