Agitators resist police action

138 taken into custody including 60 women in three villages, kept in detention till 8 pm

- The villagers came out of their houses around 10.30 am and started the agitation
- 800 police personnel including special police and 200 women police were deployed to control the villagers’ agitation

Bhimavaram: A tense situation prevailed in Tundurru, Kamsali Bethapudi and Jonnalagaruvu villages of Bhimavaram and Narasapuram mandals, following the scuffle between police and aqua food park anti-agitators on Monday.

The Godavari Aqua Mega Food Park anti-agitating Committee had called on the people of Tundurru, Kamsali Bethapudi and Jonnalagaruvu villages to obstruct the construction of aqua food park in Tundurru village, which pollutes the water resources of Gontheru.

Following the call, the people of three villages, mainly women came on the roads to obstruct the park construction works. However, as a precautionary measure police officials deployed about 800 police personnel including special police and 200 women police to control the villagers’ agitation. The women started raising the slogans against the Government and the food park management and demanded to shift the park from the village immediately. They alleged that the food park might pollute the Gontheru, the only water source of 40 villages in Bhimavaram, Mogalturu, Narasapuram mandals. This time old age people also come forward to participate in the agitation actively.

The Police administration deployed special police and armed police force last night in these three villages as a precautionary measure. The police grouped in every street of these three villages and tried to stop the women who are coming out of the villages. However, the women led by anti-food park agitation committee and CPM came on the streets and marched towards the food park construction site. The police on duty obstructed them and the women clashed with the police for their highhandedness. With this a scuffle between police and the agitating women took place and police taken hundreds of villagers including into their custody. They bundled the women into the vans kept ready in the villages.

The CPM district Secretary B Balaram, Secretariat member JNV Gopalan, Bhimavaram CPM leader Varma Anti-food park agitation Committee leaders Areti Satyavathi, Areti Subrahmanyam (Vasu) Javvadi Satyanarayana, AIDWA district Secretary D Kalyani were brutally pulled by the police and bundled them into the vans.

The villagers came out of their houses around 10.30 AM in the morning and started the agitation. The police took 138 people into their custody including 60 women in the three villages.

It may be recalled that the village people have been demanding the government to shift the Godavari Mega Aqua food park from Tundurru village to another place as it pollutes the main drinking and irrigation source of Gontheru drain. Over the last two and half years, these people have been on the warpath against the setting up of the Park. Even when they have been on the agitating path, the government so far did not heed to their request to shift the Park. The Janasena President Pawan Kalyan has assured them of justice and YSRCP President YS Jaganmohan Reddy visited this area to give a confidence among the villagers. The CPM has extended its support to the agitation and directly participated in it.

When the information of villagers’ agitation reached to the police bosses, they immediately sent the special police and armed forces to the village and promulgated the prohibitory orders under Section 144 of Cr.PC and Section 30 of Police Act.

The villagers who got information about the arrest of septuagenarians of the village, immediately called on for a bandh in the village. They also raised slogans against police and the food park management for the unrest in the villages. With this, the police arrested another 60 people including women and shifted them to various police stations of Bhimavaram, Narasapuram and Palacole. The leaders and the women were in the police stations till reports last came in around 8.00 pm.