<p>This Bay of Bengal port that once saw hectic loading and unloading of cargo under the Nizams, the French, the Dutch and the British is hesitant to embrace sudden change. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Farmers in at least 10 villages near Machilipatnam are now up in arms against the Chandrababu Naidu government’s plan to convert the sleepy, humid town into a logistic hub for new state capital Amaravati, which is just 70 km away.<br /><br />Farmers led by former MLA Perni Nani, who is now a YSRC functionary, gheraoed revenue officials who arrived to survey 14,500 acres of private lands in the Bandar and Pedana mandals on Friday. <br /><br />Farmers from Kona, Kale Khan Peta, Sivaganga and Gundupalem blocked National Highway-214 for hours, halting traffic on the important coastal arterial road.<br /><br />The revenue officials backed off and conveyed the situation to Kollu Ravindra, a local MLA and minister in Naidu’s Cabinet. <br /><br />The plan is to acquire 30,000 acres of land for the construction of a massive port linking east-coast nations through Vijayawada and other parts of the country. Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd is a frontrunner to build the port.A decision to offer a land-pooling package like the one in Amaravati, taken on Saturday at a Cabinet meeting in Hyderabad, has been conveyed to farmers. The government, in a fire-fighting move, also has rushed local MP Konakalla Narayana and blamed the land acquisition move on a clerical mistake. The Cabinet has also decided to extend by 36 months the time-limit for the project's completion.The AP government has to shelve the Sompeta Thermal Power Plant project in Srikakulam, and is on the verge of dumping a greenfield airport plan near Visakhapatnam owing to farmers' ire. The government has no option but to withdraw acquisition proposals here, and as it did in the riverfront villages of Amaravati. The port development project here dates back to 2008, when then chief minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy had laid the foundation. <br /><br />In 2010, a special-purpose vehicle (SPV), the Machilipatnam Port Ltd, was set up to build a deep-water port. <br /><br />At that time, the plan was to acquire 5,324 acres, but the Congress government, busy dealing with the state division agitation, failed to complete the process.</p>
<p>This Bay of Bengal port that once saw hectic loading and unloading of cargo under the Nizams, the French, the Dutch and the British is hesitant to embrace sudden change. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Farmers in at least 10 villages near Machilipatnam are now up in arms against the Chandrababu Naidu government’s plan to convert the sleepy, humid town into a logistic hub for new state capital Amaravati, which is just 70 km away.<br /><br />Farmers led by former MLA Perni Nani, who is now a YSRC functionary, gheraoed revenue officials who arrived to survey 14,500 acres of private lands in the Bandar and Pedana mandals on Friday. <br /><br />Farmers from Kona, Kale Khan Peta, Sivaganga and Gundupalem blocked National Highway-214 for hours, halting traffic on the important coastal arterial road.<br /><br />The revenue officials backed off and conveyed the situation to Kollu Ravindra, a local MLA and minister in Naidu’s Cabinet. <br /><br />The plan is to acquire 30,000 acres of land for the construction of a massive port linking east-coast nations through Vijayawada and other parts of the country. Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd is a frontrunner to build the port.A decision to offer a land-pooling package like the one in Amaravati, taken on Saturday at a Cabinet meeting in Hyderabad, has been conveyed to farmers. The government, in a fire-fighting move, also has rushed local MP Konakalla Narayana and blamed the land acquisition move on a clerical mistake. The Cabinet has also decided to extend by 36 months the time-limit for the project's completion.The AP government has to shelve the Sompeta Thermal Power Plant project in Srikakulam, and is on the verge of dumping a greenfield airport plan near Visakhapatnam owing to farmers' ire. The government has no option but to withdraw acquisition proposals here, and as it did in the riverfront villages of Amaravati. The port development project here dates back to 2008, when then chief minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy had laid the foundation. <br /><br />In 2010, a special-purpose vehicle (SPV), the Machilipatnam Port Ltd, was set up to build a deep-water port. <br /><br />At that time, the plan was to acquire 5,324 acres, but the Congress government, busy dealing with the state division agitation, failed to complete the process.</p>