Amaravati farmers begin Maha Padayatra with calls to quash 3 capitals

Amaravati: "We want Amaravati as the sole capital of Andhra Pradesh. CM Jagan should withdraw his idea of three capitals"— This was the only slogan heard during the Maha Padayatra 2.0 that began from Venkatapalem village to Arasavilli in the Srikakulam district on 12 September. With 600 farmers from 29 villages, the 60-day Maha Padayatra will pass through Guntur, Bapatla, Krishna, Eluru, West Godavari, East Godavari, Ambedkar Konaseema, Kakinada, Anakapalli, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, and Srikakulam. The specially decorated chariot with Sri Surya Narayana Swamy as charioteer to Sri Venkateswara Swamy was one of the attraction.

Landowners from 29 villages in and around Amaravati, under the aegis of Amaravati Parirakshana Samithi, are leading the yatra to mark the 1,000 days of protest. It is said that Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan directed JSP cadres to extend solidarity to Amaravati farmers and take part in the Maha Padayatra.

The first phase of the padayatra reached Tirupati in Rayalaseema and now the farmers have decided to seek support from north coastal AP.

'Jagan, withdraw your 3 capitals idea'

Criticising the Chief Minister's move to have three capitals for the state, a farmer taking part in the padayatra said, "Vizag is the executive capital but the government hasn't spent any money for development. The Chief Minister should follow in the footsteps of his father Y.S Rajasekhar Reddy and learn a lot of things. What he is doing now is not supported by the people of the state. We will not stop our fight until he withdraws the three capital ideas."

'No one can beat us'

"Let him be the chief minister, but we will not let the state go down a wrong path. A majority of us are above 55 years, but no one can beat us. This is Maha Padayatra 2.0, which is a stronger fight," said a member of Amaravati Parirakshana Samithi.

A planned yatra

The Maha Padayatra is being carried on in a planned manner. The participants have come prepared with all the necessary things for the 60-day yatra. A van has been arranged with cloakroom facilities to store their belongings and two vans have been arranged with 20 bio-toilets for the farmers to use. A medical team with an ambulance is there to provide medical assistance. A team has been deployed for security and different departments have been allocated to handle food, accommodations, and other facilities for farmers.