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Farmers’ leaders opposing Kakinada SEZ re-arrested
Highlights
The farmers’ leaders opposing Kakinada special economic zone (KSEZ) who were released on bail by Prathipadu court were re-arrested on Friday and sent to Rajahmundry central prison.
Prathipadu (East Godavari): The farmers’ leaders opposing Kakinada special economic zone (KSEZ) who were released on bail by Prathipadu court were re-arrested on Friday and sent to Rajahmundry central prison.
It may be mentioned that the KSEZ Vetireka Porata Committee (VPC) leaders were sent to jail by Pithapuram court on December 26. However, they were released on bail but were re-arrested and produced in the local court at Prathipadu on Friday as the Judicial First Class Magistrate of Pithapuram was not available.
The VPC leaders numbering 13 including its president Bhavisetty Narayana Swamy, secretary Chinta Suryanarayana, committee members Jyotula Babulu, Ravi Sattibabu were arrested by police immediately. It is learnt that the police re-arrested the farmers’ leaders on the grounds that there are 20 other cases pending against them.
It may be recalled here that the Kakinada special economic zone (KSEZ) has remained a non-starter from the beginning and farmers have been agitating for a long time to get back their lands or to get higher compensation. Recently, the authorities announced additional compensation but not many farmers are coming forward to accept it and surrender their lands for KSEZ.
The land acquisition for KSEZ began way back in 2005 when Dr. Y S Rajasekhara Reddy Government of the Congress was in power. A total of 10,500 acres Uppada Kottapalli and Thondangi in East Godavari district was acquired by the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) but the project got mired in a plethora of problems from the start.
The farmers were initially paid Rs 3 lakh per acre in 2005, but as the project got bogged the demand for return of lands gained momentum. An anti-KSEZ committee was formed and the struggle has been going on sporadically for the past decade or so.
When he was in the opposition, the present Chief Minister and the TDP president, N Chandrababu Naidu, gave support to the agitation and he even symbolically ploughed the lands at a village in the area, promising the farmers that he would restore their lands once he assumed charge.
He assumed charge as the Chief Minister more than a year ago, and since then pressure has been mounting on him to act in the matter. Bowing to the pressure, recently an additional compensation of Rs 2 lakh per acre has been announced but the farmers are not willing to surrender their lands. Referring to the Chief Minister’s promise when he was in Opposition, the farmers’ leaders wanted Naidu to honour his promise.
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