Amid beefed up security, the ‘court to temple’ Maha Padayatra by farmers from Amaravati meandered through the dusty lanes of villages in the Krishna western delta up to Inkollu in Prakasam district on Sunday even as the police have imposed curbs to ensure that the conditions laid out by the High Court are followed.
Thousands of farmers as also the activists of opposition parties, including the TDP and the CPI and CPI (M), joined the farmers who set out from Thullur in Guntur district on November 1 on a 45-day walkathon to Tirumala with the demand that the government should not shift the capital to Visakhapatnam as part of its ‘three capitals’ proposal.
Amaravati Parirakshana Samiti leaders A. Siva Reddy and G. Tirupati Rao led the farmers who along with hundreds of local farmers from Martur, Karamchedu, Nuthalapadu and other villages broke coconuts in front of the Venkateswara Swamy ratham (chariot) which formed part of the yatra and performed ‘harati’ seeking divine intervention.
The local farmers showered flower petals on the 150-plus farmers from Amaravati and wished that their sacrifices would not go waste.
Protest
Meanwhile, a group of farmers staged a protest at Nuthalapadu for some time as police put barricades on roads connecting Parchur and Inkollu to maintain law and order as crowds swelled through the day.
Amaravati farmer leaders including P. Sudhakara Rao, Rayapati Sailaja and K. Sirisha denied any violation of the High Court directions and disowned responsibility for the local farmers joining the padayatra.
Walking along with farmers, TDP MLA from Parchur Yeluri Sambasiva Rao alleged that the YSR Congress Party government was in jitters following the tremendous response to the farmers’ walkathon in the district and was creating hurdles through the police.
Plea against yatra
On the other hand, YSRCP MLA from Santhanuthalapadu T.J.R. Sudhakar Babu urged Prakasam Collector Pravin Kumar and SP Malika Garg not to allow the padayatra which was scheduled to enter the Assembly segment on November 9, in view of the local body elections in Chadalavada.
SP Malika Garg exhorted farmers to strictly adhere to the conditions put by the High Court and the Director General of Police while participating in the padayatra, and said the police did not have the intention to create obstacles for them as had been alleged in some sections of the media.
“The Police Department is taking all measures to ensure that the yatra is conducted as per the High Court’s guidelines, while ensuring the maintenance of law and order,” she explained, adding that the large number of people and vehicles led to a chaotic situation leading to severe disruption in traffic and two cases were registered and notices served to organisers after a police constable was assaulted.
