Members of the Amaravati Parirakshana Samithi and capital region farmers take part in Maha Padayatra in Guntur district on Monday | Prasant Madugula
VIJAYAWADA: On the second-day of their Amaravati to Arasavalli Maha Padayatra, 600 farmers and women under the aegis of Amaravati Parirakshana Samithi (APS) covered 18 km. The participants of padayatra welcomed the police decision to issue photo identity cards to them and at the same time expressed hope that police would not prevent people from supporting the yatra.
The second day of the 900-km long yatra commenced from Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple in Mangalagiri. Leaders of all opposition parties participated in it, extending their solidarity. After performing puja at Narasimha Swamy temple, the participants staged a brief protest at the temple holding placards with the slogan ‘Build Amaravati’. They reached Duggirala in the evening after covering Dwarakanagar, Rajiv Centre, Pedda Vadlapudi and Ravendrapadu.
The walkathon is being taken out with the demand that Amaravati should be the only capital of AP to safeguard the interests of farmers, who gave their lands for the construction of the capital city.
Extending his solidarity, APCC chief Sake Sailajanath along with BJP leader Kanna Lakshminarayana and CPI State secretary K Ramakrishna participated in the padayatra.
He said it’s the responsibility of the government to recognise the sacrifices of the farmers for the State capital and honour the commitment made to them. Urging the government not to render the sacrifices of more than 30,000 farmers a waste, Sailajanath emphasised the need for the completion of Amaravati capital city project.
Lakshminarayana said by changing the capital city of the State, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy would become an unforgivable person in the history. He alleged that Jagan was becoming more dictatorial day by day.
