VIJAYAWADA: Demanding reinstallation of the 12-feet bronze statue of former Chief Minister late YS Rajasekhar Reddy at the Police Control Room (PCR) Junction, which was removed by the Telugu Desam government in 2016, the ‘YSR Statue Reinstallation Committee’ has threatened to launch hunger strike from Wednesday. At present, the statue is lying at the AP Fire Station premises situated opposite to PCR Junction.
Not just launching the stir, the committee members have also decided to garner support of ruling YSRC leaders to exert pressure on the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) and police officials concerned for reinstallation of the statue at the same location.
“We have already met some leaders in the YSRC and will meet a few more in the Assembly on Wednesday to seek their support for the cause. Since the YSRC is in power, we believe it would be easy for us to get their support for our agitation,” committee president M Suresh Kumar said.
Officials had removed the statue on July 29, 2016 without any prior notice for widening roads to facilitate traffic inflow during Krishna Pushkaralu. The move by the district administration caused tension, with then Opposition YSRC leaders such as Vangaveeti Radha Krishna reaching the site with party supporters in large numbers to obstruct removal of the statue.
The statue, along with a miniature dam, was installed by former MP Lagadapati Rajagopal in 2011 in the memory of YS Rajasekhar Reddy.
Soon after the ascendance of YSRC to power, the demand for reinstallation of the statue has gained strength with supporters of the late Chief Minister taking to the roads. The committee had staged a protest over the issue near PCR Junction on June 1.
According to sources in the police, the traffic police have been asked to conduct a feasibility study on reinstallation and identify a place where the statue could be reinstalled. “With increase in vehicular traffic, we are finding it tough to identify a place in the junction for reinstallation. However, a suitable place will soon be identified,” a source said.