Stir against Vijayawada as temporary AP capital

• Protestors threaten to stall I-Day celebrations
• ‘Rasta roko’ protests held
• Want AP govt to drop decision
• AIYF seeks `1,000 cr for development of Kurnool dist

Kurnool: Students and representatives of various people’s organisations on Wednesday staged demonstration half-naked by squatting near the Collectorate here to protest against the decision to make Vijayawada the temporary State capital.

They threatened to stall the Independence Day celebrations to be organised in the town, for the first time in the State’s history. ‘Rasta roko’ protests were organised at several places in Kurnool.

The demonstrators raised slogans against Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, leading to tension. The police arrested several protestors, who recalled that the people have been agitating for some time to make Kurnool the capital. They alleged that Naidu had ignored the agitations and opted for Vijayawada, which students and people’s organisations opposed.

They contended that it was incorrect for the government to select other sites as AP capital when Kurnool, which had ‘lost in all respects’, should have been chosen; this could not be digested by the people. The demonstrators wanted the government to change its decision, making Vijayawada the temporary capital.

They criticised Naidu for taking the decision, even while opting to take part in the Independence Day celebrations here, while demanding Kurnool as the permanent State capital.

Meanwhile, district AIYF committee in an open letter to the CM demanded allocation of Rs.1,000 crore for comprehensive development of Kurnool. AIYF leader Lenin said Kurnool, the unified State’s first capital, was backward in all respects, as it faced many problems.

He pointed out that agriculture in the district has been severely affected because of poor irrigation facilities and that many industries were closed impairing job opportunities of youth. Lenin wanted the government to re-open the closed industries and allot more funds to the education and health sectors. He said these problems would be taken to the CM’s notice during the ID function.

RHPS wants region as capital: ‘Rayalaseema Hakkula Parirakshana Samiti’ leader Bhumana Subramanyam Reddy demanded at Tirupati on Wednesday that the people of the region and leaders should jointly make efforts for Rayalaseema staking claim for the State capital.

This would be honouring the Sribhag agreement, he said, addressing a round table on ‘Rayalaseema Rajadhani’ at the Youth Hostel. Reddy criticised the selection of Vijayawada- Guntur region for locating the State capital.

He suggested that the government should consider backwardness as the criterion for choosing the capital site. A decision should be taken after consulting the people and intellectuals. Reddy pointed out that if mistakes made in the past were repeated the people of Rayalaseema would be losers, like in the case of Hyderabad.

The RHPS leader contended that if the capital was located in the central part of Andhra Pradesh it would amount to violation of the Sribhag agreement. He demanded that the government should immediately divide Rayalaseema into ten districts. He said it was not proper for the State government to locate industries in district centres and allotting them to only recognised organisations.