GUNTUR/VIJAYAWADA: Pro-Amaravati women protesters blocked the vehicle of Sarada Peetham seer Swaroopanandendra Swamy in Gorantla of Guntur district on Friday, and demanded that he conduct a ‘yagam’ for continuation of the state capital in Amaravati. The seer was in Gorantla to participate in a religious function at Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple.
The women, who reportedly were activists of Telugu Mahila (TDP women’s wing), obstructed the seer’s car amid presence of the police and asked him to hold ‘yagam’ for ‘protection of Amaravati’. “You performed ‘yagams’ for YS Jagan Mohan Reddy so that he might win the last general elections. Now, you should perform the ritual again for scrapping of the proposal to relocate the capital from Amaravati,” they told the seer.
However, the seer did not reply to their appeals and left the place as the police cleared the road. Angered over this, they, later in an interaction with the media, said they requested for the pontiff’s help as after the ritual, Jagan’s party won the elections and he became the CM.
Meanwhile, the indefinite protest of capital region farmers against the State government’s three-capital proposal continued on Friday, as relay hunger strikes and sit-ins were observed on the 52nd day. They accused the government of cheating thousands of farmers, who gave more than 33,000 acres of fertile land for Amaravati, in the name of development by decentralising the governance.
Demanding an explanation from Jagan on why did he promise that he had no intentions on capital shifting during his election campaigns, they said, “Jagan cheated farmers by taking his word back on the capital. He should answer them before it is too late. For the past 52 days, farmers are staging protests against the government and he seems to be not bothered,” Thullur villagers rued. Similar situations prevailed at Mandadam, Velagapudi, Yerrabalam and Uddandarayunipalem villages.
Stir enters Day 52
Protests against the government’s three-capital proposal were held in Thullur, Mandadam, Rayapudi, Yerrabalam and Velagapudi.