AP oppn leaders stand behind farmers who gave up lands

Janasena chief and actor Pawan Kalyan will visit the villages where farmers have pooled their fertile land for the sake of new capital for Andhra Pradesh, to instill confidence in them, in the light of the Y S Jaganmohan Reddy’s government’s apparent move to shift the capital to some other place.

The apprehension of an imminent movement of the capital to Donakonda in Prakasam district become ripe after state Municipal Administration Minister Botcha Satyanarayana labeled the present capital as prone to severe waterlogging and a burden on state’s exchequer.

While there were clarifications from cabinet ministers, the CM is yet to make a clear-cut statement on the issue. In all, 23,000 farmers have contributed 33,000 acres of land for Amaravati.

A group of farmers visited the Janasena Party office and met Pawan Kalyan. They told him that they (farmers) will be at a loss if the government decides to shift the capital to some other place. “We have already lost four years of crop. The government took over the land and allocated us commercial space in return. Now the work has stopped and construction is suspended,” Bullaiah, a farmer from one the villages said.

Assuring the farmers, Pawan Kalyan said that he will visit Amaravati on August 31 and meet the farmers. “Capital is for all, it must not be moved out of Amaravati. The farmers have sacrificed a lot already. Capital can’t be shifted each time the government changes. People will lose confidence in the political system,” he said, addressing the farmers that met him.

The farmers also met BJP Rajya Sabha member Sujana Choudary and apprised him of the situation. The farmers brought to his notice that BJP AP unit president Kanna Lakshminarayana has assured BJP’s support to the farmer’s struggle. He said capital can’t be shifted just because there were floods in the Krishna River. The Congress, CPI and CPM also have come to the rescue of the farmers. The Opposition TDP has already made it clear that it will not sit silent if the government decides to shift the capital.

Meanwhile, Botcha Satyanarayana clarified that his comments on Amaravati were misinterpreted. “I only quoted what the Sivaramakishna committee’s report told about the dangers of a low laying capital,” he said.