Farmers from the Amaravati region of Andhra Pradesh have called for a hunger strike during the upcoming Assembly session, which begins on December 9. The move comes in the absence of clear communication regarding the status of capital development from the YSRCP government. Several farmers gathered in Mandadam village near Thullur on Friday to announce the protest.
Speaking to TNM, Ramu from Mandadam, who is one of the many farmers who gave their land to the previous TDP government's Land Pooling Scheme, says that farmers have been waiting for certainty over development in the region for months now. "All construction works have completely stopped for months now. Comments from ministers have caused even more alarm about whether the capital will continue to be built here," says Ramu, adding that the government seems to be focused entirely on the Navaratnalu welfare schemes, ignoring the capital altogether.
"We have met our local MLAs who have given us verbal assurance, but we are yet to hear from the Chief Minister on the issue. Unless the government comes up with a detailed plan before the Assembly session commences on the development of the capital in the Amaravati region, all the farmers who have pooled their land have decided to protest peacefully in front of the Secretariat on lands which have been allotted to us, " Ramu said.
Farmers in the region had given up more than 30,000 acres of land to the state government, for a portion of the land to be returned to the owner as a developed plot. However, most construction work in the region has come to a standstill ever since the Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government came to power this year. The YSRCP has alleged that the previous TDP government had resorted to insider trading and corruption during the capital construction. A five-member committee led by retired IAS officer G Nageswara Rao has been appointed to decide the fate of Amaravati as the capital.
Amidst the uncertainty, Ramu says that the land prices have fallen from 30 to 50 per cent, depending on their proximity to the urban centre of Vijayawada, which means that huge losses will be suffered unless construction work is revived.
Earlier, Urban Development Minister Botsa Satyanarayana said that Amaravati was not a safe place for the capital, as it was in a flood-prone region. Recently, a major controversy erupted over the missing capital of Andhra Pradesh in a political map released by the Centre. However, it was added to the map on Friday.