The farmers who had parted with their lands for the Capital city, Amaravati, on Friday intensified their protest against Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s move to have three Capitals in the State.
They were up in arms against Panchayat Raj Minister Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy’s statement that the government would return the lands that had been acquired from the farmers.
“Is government not a continuous process?” the farmers asked.
“The farmers had gave 33,000 acres of fertile agriculture land voluntarily for the construction of the new Capital for the development of the State. Lands were given to the government and not to a political party. It is not correct on the part of the government to drop its plan to develop Amaravati,” said Praveen, whose family had parted with its one-acre land.
‘Lands can’t be returned’
Expressing similar views, Venkata Raju said that the Minister’s announcement was beyond logic and comprehension. “It is not feasible now. Several structures such as roads, bridges and buildings have already come up on the lands pooled. How can justice be done to farmers? Above all, the farmers had agreed to the Land Pooling Scheme (LPS) as the State had no Capital at the time of bifurcation,” he said.
Questioning the feasibility of having three Capitals, and the fate of the pooled land, they said, “We did not give more than 33,000 acres of land just for the Assembly. The land can be used meaningfully only when there’s overall development,” the farmers said.
The farmers raised slogans accusing the government of creating differences among various regions and castes through the proposal. The staged a sit-in on the road at Mandadam and other places. They even blocked trafficat some places.
Demanding that the government shelve it plans to develop three Capitals, the villagers wanted the Chief Minister to clear the air on the issue.
Large contingents of police were deployed in the Capital region to maintain law and order. Police sealed the route leading to the temporary Secretariat.
