40 anti-food park activists held

Bhimavaram: The police on Thursday arrested as many as 40 anti-food park agitation committee activists for spraying chilli powder and hurling kerosene bottles on the police in Kamsali Bethapudi village. The police shifted all the activists to Palacole rural, Poduru and Mogalturu police stations.

The villagers sprayed chilli powder and hurled kerosene bottles on the police in Kamsali Bethapudi village

On Thursday, about eight containers have reached Tundurru village to enter the park site. Seeing the trucks, the women came out of their houses in Kamsali Bethapudi village and tried to obstruct their entry. However, the police stopped the activists with barricades. A fight broke out between villagers and police lead to severe tense situation in the village.

The agitating women and villagers sprayed chilli powder on police and hurled kerosene bottles on them. With this, the police surrounded the villagers and bundled them into the trucks kept in the village. Following the spraying of chilli powder, several police suffered from eye problems and they were shifted to Narsapur governent hospital.

District SP M Raviprakash told media at Narsapuram that cases have been registered against the agitators for spraying chilli powder and kerosene on police under Sections 353,307,143,144,108 of IPC. Earlier, the police on Wednesday night arrested

the anti-food park agitation committee leaders, Areti Vasu, Areti Satyavathi, AIDWA district secretary D Kalyani, Narsapuram AIDWA division president Pogaku Poorna, Mamidisetty Anjaneyulu and Muchcarla Triumurthulu shifted them to Mogalturu police station as a precautionary measure and deployed additional force.

It may be recalled that the villagers of Tundurru, Kamsali Bethapudi and Jonnala Garuvu are on agitating path over three years against the setting up of Godavari Aqua Mega Food Park claiming that it would contaminate water sources in their area.