Rayalaseema Intellectuals Dharna In City On Oct 18

Rayalaseema officials, intellectuals and educationists, under the banner of Rayalaseema Abhyudaya Sangham, will stage a dharna at Indira Park on Sunday to voice the problems of the people of the region including the location of AP's new capital and pending irrigation projects.

Speaking to the media on Saturday, Samgham convener Rachamallu Ismail Reddy recalled that when the Andhra State was formed in 1953 after its separation from the then Madras Province, Kurnool in the Rayalaseema region was made the capital as per the Sreebagh Agreement. Later when Andhra Pradesh was formed in 1956 as per the States Reorganisation Act, the capital city of the new State was shifted to Hyderabad from Kurnool.

After united AP was bifurcated and Telangana came into being in June last year, he said, while Hyderabad remained capital of Telangana, Kurnool should have been the new capital of residuary Andhra Pradesh as per the 1953 Sreebagh Agreement. However, the Telugu Desam Party government unilaterally declared its decision to make Amaravathi the new capital of AP.

While the main Opposition YSR Congress Party supported the government's decision, the Congress, BJP and other parties remained silent on the issue. Therefore, the aggrieved people of the Rayalaseema, especially officials, educationists and intellectuals, had decided to raise their voice against the injustice being done to the region, Reddy said.

The Sangham convener appealed to the people of Rayalaseema and advocates of democracy to participate in the dharna and apprise the world of their grievances.