Uttarandhra JAC puts up massive showdown to develop Vizag as executive capital

Visakhapatnam Braving heavy rain thousands took to streets and participated in 'Visakha Garjana' called here on Saturday by North Andhra JAC in support of making Visakhapatnam the executive capital.

A rally from Dr. Ambedkar statue at Daba Gardens to YSR statue near Vuda Park marked the commencement of the Garjana. The organisers heaved a sigh of relief as rain subsided to some extent when the meeting started at Jail Road Junction.

North Andhra is witnessing incessant rain for past one week due to low pressure in the Bay of Bengal.

The garjana proved to be a show of strength for the ruling YSRCP in support of trifurcation of capital and in putting up stiff opposition to Amaravati Farmers' JAC.

The farmers are on a maha padayatra to Arasavilli sun temple in neighbouring Srikakulam district demanding retention of Amaravati as the single capital of Andhra Pradesh. The decision on Amaravati was taken during erstwhile TDP Government when then Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu acquired 35,000 acres from the farmers of 29 villages between Guntur and Vijayawada under Land Pooling Scheme (LPS).

Coinciding with the Visakha Garjana programme, Jana Sena president Pawan Kalyan has announced a rally here from Sunday against trifurcation of capital.

The TDP organised a roundtable against trifurcation while the Left parties staged a protest against Visakha Garjana on Saturday aimd tight security and curbs imposed by police on movement of vehicles. The YSRCP mobilised several cultural troupes with folk artists to explain about the need for centralised development.

Accusing the previous government of involvement in 'insider trading', YSRCP leadership alleged that Amaravati as a capital was proposed for real estate business. Leaders including Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy said developing Amaravati will necessitate heavy investment which a newly carved out State can not afford while Visakhapatnam designated as executive capital will need less than Rs.10,000 crore.

"The maha padayatra by Amaravati farmers is totally instigated by TDP and the media close to it to oppose decentralised development by creating executive capital in Visakhapatnam, judicial capital at Kurnool and legislative capital at Kurnool," Municipal Administration Minister Botcha Satyanarayana said.

"TDP is hand-in-glove with others to vitiate peaceful atmosphere in North Andhra and spark off trouble by raking up parochial feelings," said Tourism Minister R.K. Roja.

The spontaneous support to Visakha Garjana is a pointer to the fact on the mood of the people over the government's decision to ensure decentralisation in all three regions, Minister for Industries Gudivada Amarnath said.