Amaravati: Farmers continued to protest for the second consecutive day in the Amaravati capital region on Thursday against Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy’s proposal to have three capital cities in the state.
The farmers who had given away their fertile lands for the development of Amaravati as the new capital of Andhra Pradesh during the previous Telugu Desam Party (TDP) regime are now holding protests in their villages. They are demanding that the state government drops the three-capital formula for the state.
On Tuesday, Reddy had hinted that the state may have three capitals — Vishakhapatnam, Amaravati, Kurnool. A committee, comprising urban planning experts to study the various aspects of the proposed capital will submit a report in a few days, he added.
As tension intensified in the area, the government deployed additional police forces at Mandadam, Velagapudi and Thulluru villages of the capital region and imposed restrictions under sections 144 and Section 30 in the nearby villages.
State ministers have been appealing to local farmers to keep calm until a final announcement in made in this regard as the expert committee report is awaited on the matter.
Civil Supplies Minister Kodali Nani said, “Our chief minister said that it would be good to have three capitals. For the last three months, there have been some agitations demanding a branch of the high court in the Rayalaseema region. The government will take a final decision on the matter only after receiving the expert committee's report. We understand the agony of the farmers, who have given their lands for the capital region. I urge them to wait for the final decision.”
Meanwhile, senior TDP leaders have extended their support to the government’s proposal. Party’s Kondru Murali Mohan, a leader from the northern Andhra region, and MLA Ganta Srinivas Rao have openly welcomed the three-capital formula.
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