Pall of gloom pervades Andhra's Amaravati as work grinds to a halt

40,000 workers from other states left in the lurch, real estate business takes a battering, farmers get a raw deal on the land they surrendered for Andhra Pradesh's new capital

It’s the silence that is eerie — this is a construction site where no sound of men drilling or machines digging can be heard. A hush has descended on Amaravati, the fabled new capital of Andhra Pradesh. Loitering around the unfinished structures on one project site is small time labour contractor Bapi Behera who has been collecting the pending Rs 20 lakh wages he is owed for his workers ever since they left the site three months ago. 

 Having finally collected the dues from Larsen & Toubro, Behera will take it back with him to Kolkata to hand out to