VISAKHAPATNAM: Tension prevailed in Nakkapalli mandal of Anakapalli district on Sunday as fishermen from Rajayyapeta and nearby villages blocked the National Highway, demanding that the government cancel the proposed Bulk Drug Park project. The protest, which has been continuing for over a month, intensified after police prevented BCY Party president Bode Ramachandra Yadav from visiting the area.
Yadav, who had obtained High Court permission to visit Rajayyapeta, was stopped by police in Visakhapatnam and not allowed to leave his hotel. On learning this, fishermen from 16 affected villages gathered at Nakkapalli and staged a highway blockade that lasted for nearly five hours, causing a five-kilometre traffic jam.
Following the standoff, Anakapalli District Collector Vijaya Krishnan visited the protest site and held talks with the fishermen.
They told her they were not ready to form a committee and insisted on the cancellation of the project. “This park will destroy our livelihoods. We are being treated like criminals for protecting our right to live,” they told the Collector.
The fishermen alleged that police mishandled women protesters, removed their tents, and tried to stop the agitation using force. They questioned why peaceful protests were being met with such treatment.
Collector Vijaya Krishnan assured the fishermen that she would visit Rajayyapeta village on Wednesday to discuss their concerns in detail and convey them to the government.
“I will take your demands to the notice of the authorities and work to resolve the issue,” she said. Following her assurance, the fishermen called off the blockade and cleared the road.
Speaking to reporters later, the Collector said the fishermen’s concerns had come to her notice and that the government would discuss the issue further after Wednesday’s meeting.
“No government wants to cause distress to its people. We will handle the matter democratically,” she stated.
Meanwhile, BCY Party President Bode Ramachandra Yadav criticised the government for what he described as the misuse of police power.
He said he would approach the High Court over his “illegal confinement” and continue supporting the Rajayyapeta fishermen.
“I am not a criminal. I only wanted to meet the fishermen and stand by their peaceful protest in a democratic manner. Why am I being stopped?” he questioned. The fishermen have opposed the Bulk Drug Park project, saying it will damage the environment and affect their fishing livelihoods.
They said the project, which requires several hundred acres of land, was first proposed in Thondangi mandal of Kakinada district but was shifted to Rajayyapeta after protests from farmers there.
According to the fishermen, the land was acquired through the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) for “regional development” but later designated for the Bulk Drug Park.
“We were not informed about the real purpose. Had we known, we would never have given up our land,” they argued.
They alleged that the region already has Asia’s second-largest chemical industry, Hetero Drugs, which has discharged chemical effluents into the sea, leading to the loss of marine life. Many locals, they said, have been suffering from cancer and kidney-related ailments because of pollution.
The fishermen also expressed disappointment with Payakaraopeta MLA and State Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha, who represents their constituency. “We were hopeful when she became a minister, but our problems remain ignored,” they rued.
