Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy

Farmers from 29 villages of Amaravati, who gave up their land for the Andhra Pradesh capital, started a three-day hunger strike Thursday near the state Secretariat at Velagapudi to protest the government’s proposal to establish multiple capitals.

Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday said his government was considering the move with the aim of decentralising development. Making a statement in the Assembly during a discussion on Amaravati capital city, Jagan said Visakhapatnam could be developed as the executive capital, Kurnool as the judicial capital and Amaravati as the legislative capital.

The proposal sparked protests in the 29 villages which constitute the capital city of Amaravati as envisaged by former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu.

On Thursday, hundreds of farmers marched from Mandadam — where nearly 90 per cent of farmers gave away land for construction of the capital — towards the Secretariat. They carried black flags and placards with the slogan: “Save Rajdhani”.

B Narasimha Rao, who gave 20 acres of land, accused Jagan of going back on his assurances that the capital would not be shifted. “Farmers of this region gave 33,000 acres to the TDP government, which has given back developed plots. The land rates were good until the government changed and now prices are falling. If the capital is shifted, the lives of thousands of Amaravati farmers will be ruined,” Rao said.

Bezwada Ramesh, whose family gave up 100 acres, said farmers would suffer due to YSRCP’s “politics of revenge”. “New governments do not completely scrap any project that was started by the previous government. Due to this politics of revenge, there is lot of uncertainty and farmers are going to suffer if the capital is shifted,” he said.

Finance and Legislative Affairs Minister B Rajendranath said establishing three capitals was just an idea and not a final decision.

Information and Public Relations Minister P Venkataramaiah alleged that the protests are politically motivated. “People from all regions of the state support the idea of establishing three capitals for all-round development of the state. These protests are sponsored by the opposition party.”

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