Amaravati farmers to stage protest in Delhi

Amaravati, Dec 13:  Amaravati farmers, opposing proposed three state capitals of Andhra Pradesh, have decided to stage a protest in Delhi.

The Amaravati Parirakshana Samithi, which is spearheading the movement, announced on Tuesday that the protest will be held in the national capital from December 17 to December 19 to mark three years of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government's decision to develop three state capitals.

Demanding that Amaravati be developed as the only state capital as decided by the previous Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government, farmers of Amaravati and other sections of people have been fighting under the umbrella of the Samithi.

APS President Shiva Reddy and Secretary G. Tirupati Rao announced the protest plans. They said 1,800 people will leave for Delhi by special trains to participate in the protest.

They said a dharna will be organised at Jantar Mantar on December 17. They will meet MPs of various states on December 18 to seek their support for their demand. The next day, they will participate in the protest planned by Bharatiya Kisan Sangh at Ramlila Grounds in support of various demands of farmers.

After coming to power in 2019, the YSRCP had reversed the decision of the previous TDP government to develop Amaravati as the only state capital. It decided to develop three state capitals - Amaravati, Visakhapatnam and Kurnool.

This had triggered massive protests from farmers of Amaravati, who had given 33,000 acres of land for the capital.

As part of the protest, Amaravati farmers had launched Maha Padyatra from Amaravati to Arasavalli on September 12. It was scheduled to end at Arasavalli on November 12. However, on October 22, the organisers stopped it enroute alleging that the YSRCP government is creating hurdles in their long march.

The farmers had organised a Maha Padayatra from Amaravati to Tirupati last year to mobilise public support for their demands.