VIJAYAWADA: Former minister Konathala Ramakrishna staged a protest at Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, on his way to New Delhi as part of his 48-hour ‘Hunger Rail Yatra’ on Sunday.
He staged the protest seeking Bundelkhand-model special package for Uttarandha (an area comprising three districts -- Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam in the northern part of Andhra Pradesh), separate railway zone for Andhra Pradesh with headquarters at Visakhapatnam and implementation of other provisions in the AP Reorganisation Act.
Konathala said people of Uttarandhra are still bereft of the fruits of development even after over seven decades of Independence. He said Uttarandhra has 15 per cent of the total land area and 19 per cent of total population of the State. However, it remains at the bottom in development indices.
Migrations for livelihood still continue in Uttarandhra and no efforts have been made by the successive governments to address the issue, he said.