The Praja Pada Yatra held on Monday to mark the completion of 365 days of agitation against the shifting of the Andhra Pradesh capital from Amaravati, evoked good response.
The Yatra was spearheaded jointly by the Amaravati Parirakshana Samithi Joint Action Committee (JAC) and United Farmers’ Action Committee. A number of people from different fields took active part in the massive rally taken out from Padavala Revu Centre to the BRTS Road here. Farmers, a large number of women, youth and students of all age groups marched ahead raising slogans of “Jai Amaravati” and “Save Amaravati”.
The farmers’ agitation in the villages located in the Amaravati region will complete a year on Thursday (December 17).
‘People’s mood clear’
To mark the ‘milestone’ in their fight against the government’s plans to shift the capital out of Amaravati to Visakhapatnam, the JAC and farmers’ organisations have coordinated a series of protest programmes that will culminate in a massive public meeting at Uddandarayunipalem.
JAC conveners A. Sivareddy and Gadde Tirupati Rao pointed to the huge public response to the protest call and said it reflected the people’s desire that Amaravati be retained as the permanent and sole capital of Andhra Pradesh.
They said there was no doubt in their minds that the agitation would soon become a people’s movement, and that it would not stop till Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy withdrew the plan to shift the capital.
Farmers’ committee convener Puvvada Sudhakar said 34,000 farmers had come forward to contribute their mite to the development of a new capital, adding that it was a “do or die” battle for the farmers.
