Amalapuram: Caste imbalance triggered violence

Amalapuram (Konaseema district): A race among three predominant castes that pursued a game of one-upmanship and the unintended political consequences appears to be the trigger for the violence and arson in Amalapuram town in Andhra Pradesh where the situation thankfully returned to normalcy on Wednesday.

In the aftermath of huge protests and violent incidents that set ablaze the houses of Transport Minister Pinipe Viswaroop and the Mummidivaram MLA Ponnada Satish Kumar, Konaseema was encircled by the police to prevent any untoward incidents further.

Amalapuram witnessed widespread arson in protest against the move to rename the new Konaseema district after B R Ambedkar.

The Minister, who was staying in a rented house, examined the burnt house and spoke to the owner of the building. The owner pleaded with him to do justice. Later talking to the media, he alleged that a YSRCP councillor was behind the arson. He alleged that the councillor encouraged rowdy sheeters. On the other hand, the police arrested Anayam Sai who is said to be a follower of the minister.

However, the blame game has begun. YSRCP leaders said that Sai was a Jana Sena activist while the opposition said that Sai recently attempted self-immolation opposing change of name of Konaseema as Konaseema Ambedkar district. In order to ensure peace, Eluru Range DIG G Pala Raju camped in Konaseema. Several senior IPS officers and Superintendents of Police, including Vishal Gunni, Siddhardh Kaushal, Aiswarya Rastogi, M Ravindranath Babu and others were brought to Konaseema and heavy police forces were deployed.

All the roads to Konaseema have been closed. Despite heavy police deployment tension prevailed at Ravulapalem. Some of the protesters pelted stones at the police, but nobody was injured. The protesters stopped the vehicle of the Kothapeta MLA Chirla Jaggi Reddy on the ring road and raised the slogans "Konaseema Jindabad." The police chased them away. Police asked all shops to close.

Heavy police forces were deployed to prevent outsiders from entering the region. However, the police allowed the students to write Intermediate examinations.

Internet services were shut down in Konaseema and the RTC did not run the buses. The bank transactions were disrupted due to lack of network.