RAJANNA-SIRCILLA: Police prevented the oustees of the Mid Manair Dam (MMD) from holding the maha dharna at Nandi Kaman on Monday. Several agitators were taken into preventative custody before they could reach the protest site by police, who said that they didn’t have adequate permission for the protest.
Joint Action Committee (JAC) leaders, including convenor Kusa Ravinder, were detained. An 85-year-old Chokkala Anjavva, who is from Chinthal thadem, was taken into custody and shifted to Vemulawada police station. Anjavva criticised Vemulawada MLA Ch Ramesh Babu for the government action against protesters.
However, some oustees avoided police arrests and reached the dharna site on TSRTC buses. They boarded pretending to be regular commuters and got down at Nandi Kaman. They raised slogans and displayed placards showing the ‘failed promises of the government’ such as the sanction of `5.04 lakh to construct double-bedroom houses for MMD oustees.
JAC members, along with BJP and Congress leaders, met officials to apprise them of the regular plight of the oustees. Due to the lack of employment, several displaced persons are having to travel long distances to work as daily wage labourers, they said.
EX-MP TAKEN INTO CUSTODY
Many Congress and BJP leaders, including former MP Ponnam Prabhakar were taken into custody while they were going to extend support to the protesting Mid Manair Dam oustees.
BJP, Congress condemn arrest of dam oustees
The Opposition Congress and BJP on Monday condemned the arrest of Mid Manair project oustees and agitating JAC leaders.
They demanded immediate release of the arrested protesters and a better R&R package for the oustees. In separate statements, TPCC chief A Revanth Reddy and BJP State president Bandi Sanjay Kumar slammed CM K Chandrasekhar Rao for not ‘keeping the promise of better package’ made to the oustees.
He described the police ‘clampdown’ on the protesters as atrocious. In another statement, He accused the government of not sparing even women. They would not have staged protests had the government solved their problems, he said.