GUNTUR: Farmers here are seeking cine star Pawan Kalyan's intervention to stop the forcible collection of their land. The non-pooling farmers of the Amaravati capital region have been recalling that the Jana Sena founder and actor Pawan Kalyan had promised to protect their land from acquisition, which they believe, is being done not for the establishment of a new capital, but for real estate purposes.
Their point is that when the government had said that it would establish Amaravati on the banks of the Krishna river in Uddandarayuni-palem, Rayapudi and Lin-gayapalem, then there was no need for forcible land collection in other villages through the LA Act. The non-pooling farmers feel that fear is being created through the LA notification in Nelapadu. They felt that the film star's help was needed in their effort to get justice as Rajadhani farmer leader G. Naresh Reddy recalled that the star's intervention on an earlier occasion had stopped LAA’s implementation.
He also pointed out that with the CRDA having to collect 850 acres in Penumaka, 600 acres in Undavalli and a huge chunk of land in other villages under the LAA, there was danger of a collective revolution against the government by the non-pooling farmers if it embarked on land acquisition. The government had therefore chosen only 27 acres of land to be acquired in Nelapadu.
Non-pooling farmer B. Venkata Reddy said his family had been cultivating the land since 1920, earning Rs 3 lakh per annum from various crops. He said that 280 farmers, who had offered their farmland under LPS, later changed their decision by refusing the LPS package. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu announced no collection of land from unwilling farmers in the AP Assembly, but now the government was violating its own decision, he pointed out. He said they would need a film star to come to the rescue of non-pooling farmers, who were giving employment to nearly 10,000 agriculture workers.
