A Dossier on Visakhapatnam
NAOB-displaced persons staged 70km padayatra to District Collectorate and stages a peaceful dharna.
District Collect Office, September 28, 2011
Villages from Vaadanarsapuram and Kothapatnam in Rambilli mandal and Brangarammapalem in S Rayavaram mandal reached the District Collectorate after staging a 70-km padayatra. The villagers who were displaced by the Naval Alternate Operations Base (NAOB) in the area, chose Gandhian way of protest, by staging a padayatra and later staged a peaceful dharna in front of the Collectorate. The padayatra began in the morning on monday and after 42 hours, they reached the Collectorate. They rested at the Fishing harbor on Tuesday night.
The Villagers were peaceful in their dharna even though the large crowd of over 2000 people caused anxiety to the police and district administration. A large number of policemen were deployed to prevent any untoward situation. Leaders from the CPI, CPI(M), Telugu Desam, BJP and YSR Congress parties supported their agitation though no party flags were allowed.
District Collector Lav Agarwal spent a few hours in talks with the representatives of the villagers and the political parties and assured them that four of their main demands would be conceded. Addressing the crowd later, the Collector said that relief package would be given to the list of displaced which is prepared by the government in the past. In case of any additions, they have to be accepted by the gram sabhas, he said. Rs. 21.5 crore would be disbursed to the DPs within 10 days. The amount includes 14 crore received from the Navy and Rs. 7.5 crore from the government. The District Collector also appreciated the villages for holding the dharna peacefully.
Comments