Tension prevailed for more than six hours in the Palasa-Kasibugga twin towns of Srikakulam district due to a tussle between TDP leaders and police personnel following the demolition of a culvert, which provided a way to the house of Palasa TDP President Bade Nagaraju.
The tussle between the TDP leaders and the police began when the local municipal authorities and revenue officials came to demolish the culvert which was constructed 15 years ago. It was the only way to reach a few houses, including that of Mr. Nagaraju.
On receiving information about the demolition of the culvert, Srikakulam MP Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu and Palasa former TDP MLA Gowthu Sireesha, Itchapuram MLA Bendalam Ashok and others reached the spot in the early hours of Sunday and staged a protest over the move of the revenue and municipal authorities.
They strongly objected to the deployment of heavy police force in Palasa town when the “issue was very small”. With TDP leaders strongly opposing the demolition drive, the cops arrested them.
Ms. Sireesha was directed not to move out of her house for a couple of days. They also took Mr. Rammohan Naidu and Mr. Ashok into custody and ensured the demolition of the culvert. Speaking to the media, Mr. Rammohan Naidu alleged that the entire government machinery was being misused by Minister for Animal Husbandry Sidiri Appala Raju, who was unable to digest TDP’s popularity in Palasa-Kasibugga towns.
He said that the cops had also crossed their limits and misbehaved with TDP leaders and activists although they were registering their protest in a peaceful manner.
“The culvert was neither causing any trouble to anyone nor obstructing the flow of water. Its demolition is nothing but political vendetta. YSRCP Government will face the music in the 2024 general elections as people are waiting to teach a lesson to the ruling party for its undemocratic rule,” said Mr. Rammohan Naidu.
Ms. Sirisha alleged that the Minister had been harassing TDP leaders for the last couple of years by foisting false cases on them through his followers. Meanwhile, the Minister’s loyalists claimed that the local people had been insisting on the removal of the culvert, which was obstructing the water flow during the rainy season.
