The AgriGold Customers and Agents’ Welfare Association (ACAAWA) will stage a protest in Vijayawada on September 6 demanding that the State government release ₹3,060 crore immediately to facilitate payments to the AgriGold depositors.
The association will also take out a procession from Tummalapalli Kalakshetram to the Dharna Chowk here as part of the protest.
Addressing the media on Thursday, association honorary president and CPI State assistant secretary M. Nageswara Rao appealed to the government to take steps to make the payments to the victims who had deposited ₹20,000 and above in the company. “The victims have been waiting for the amount for the past seven years,” he said.
Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, when he was the Leader of the Opposition, had said he would resolve the AgriGold victims’ problems in six months of coming to power, Mr. Rao said.
“But, even after 39 months, the State government has not taken the issue to its logical conclusion. The victims are suffering financially. A few of them have committed suicide. The government should seize all the properties of the AgriGold Group and ensure that the protest doesn’t turn violent,” Mr. Rao said.
Mr. Rao said the State government had on August 24, 2021, released ₹667 crore towards making payments to those who had deposited less than ₹20,000. The government had so far released ₹905 crore with which payments had been made to about 14 lakh victims, he added.
About 6.50 lakh victims who had deposited ₹20,000 or more were waiting for payments, he said.
“In all, there are 32 lakh victims spread over eight States, and 19.50 lakh of them are from Andhra Pradesh,” he said.
Association general secretary V. Tirupathi Rao and deputy general secretary B.V. Chandrasekhar were present.
