AP capital issue: Amaravati farmers write to MoS Kishan Reddy on prevailing situation

After farmers from Amaravati sent a letter to MoS, Home Affairs, G Kishan Reddy briefing him about the prevailing situation in Andhra Pradesh, the latter said that Andhra Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is yet to take a decision on whether to keep Amaravati as state capital or not and that farmers who have given land for development must not bear any loss.

"He (Andhra CM) said that it must be decentralised. Farmers who have given land for development must not bear any loss. We have taken the responsibility to help them," the Union Minister said while speaking to ANI.

Farmers also spoke to ANI over the issue and narrated their ordeals.

"We are farmers from Amaravati. We have been protesting in Andhra Pradesh from the past 19 days peacefully with women and kids on the road. We are protesting as the government is making very bad moves to cheat us. When Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were divided, Andhra did not have a capital. Amaravati farmers gave the 33400 acres of land to the government. The agreement between farmers and the government was that we give our 4800 sq yards of land to the government and the government will give us a plot of 1250 sq yards to us which is 1/4th of what we have given," said Naveen, a farmer.

"Government promised that they will build capital in the other 3/4 th piece of land. Roads and buildings were made in some of those lands. Now, the new government wants to take away the capital to Visakhapatnam and are trying to breach the agreement. If that happens, farmers neither cultivate nor develop the plots as the capital is being moved. Who on this earth can save us?"

Naveen also claimed that the local police is trying to provoke them and arrest them. He also said that at midnight, the police barged into the houses of the farmers and arrested them. "Ministers are also calling farmers paid artistes," he added.

Notably, yesterday also farmers were protesting against the proposal of three capitals of Andhra in Mandadam, while the people of Tulluru village continued their "dharna".

Anguished by the proposal to shift the capital from Amaravati to Visakhapatnam, the farmers of the region recently wrote a letter to President Ram Nath Kovind seeking a direction to "stall the process of shifting the capital city" or else grant them "permission for mercy killing".

People of 29 villages in the region have been demanding Amaravati to be retained as the sole capital of the state.