Andhra farmers protest land acquisition for port

Suresh Dharur

Tribune News Service

Hyderabad, September 13

The Andhra Pradesh government’s ambitious project to develop Machilipatnam port has run into rough weather with local farmers taking up cudgels against land acquisition.

Backed by the Opposition — the YSR Congress, CPI and CPM — farmers staged a protest demonstration near the Krishna District Collectorate office in Machilipatnam, demanding withdrawal of the notification for land acquisition.

The protesters prevented State Excise Minister K Ravindra and local MP from the ruling Telugu Desam Party Narayana Rao from visiting the villages where the government plans to acquire land for the project. The opposition groups have been alleging that the state government was taking over agricultural land in the name of setting up ancillary industries.

A large number of farmers from Kona, Gundupalem, Rudravaram, Chinnapuram, Pallitummalapalem, Polatitippa, Pothepalli, Karagraharam, Potllapalem, Hussenpalem, Borrapothupalem and Byragipalem villages participated in the protest.

The protesters pointed out that the government had deliberately issued a land acquisition notification on the midnight of August 31, only a day before the Central Government’s land acquisition ordinance lapsed, in order to avoid a social impact assessment of the project.

State Information Minister P Raghunatha Reddy said the port development project dated back to 2010, when the Congress was in power in the combined state, and a special purpose vehicle (SPV), Machilipatnam Port Ltd, was set up to build the all-weather, greenfield deep-water port. It was then mandated to acquire 5,324 acres, but had been able to rake mobilize only 524 acres.

The farmers and fishermen in the coastal town of Machilipatnam have been up in arms ever since the notification for acquisition of 14,500 acres of private land was publicised. The farmers have been staging dharnas on the national highway, attacking policemen and driving away the survey teams from their villages.

“The government will not conduct the land survey, given the existing conditions in the villages. We will convince the affected people to part with their lands and only then will the survey be taken up,” Ravindra said after facing protests from farmers.