All party leaders, at a round table conference on the construction of port in Machilipatnam, vowed to intensify the agitation, if the government did not make a clear statement during the ongoing Assembly sessions. Participating at the round table conference, here today, all party leaders, including Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader and Machilipatnam MP Konakalla Narayana called for Krishna district bandh on April 11 in protest against the indifferent attitude of the state government in expediting the process for the construction of port.
The leaders warned that a state-wide agitation would be launched, unless the government takes up construction work during the month. Accusing the government of not evincing any interest on construction of port, TDP leader and MP K Narayana lamented that though indefinite fasts were being observed for 445 days in Machilipatnam, protest against the nonchalant attitude, but the government did not respond. TDP Krishna district president and MLA Devineni Umameshwara Rao explained that the Centre had approved for allocation of Rs 2,500 crore and the required land of 2,800 acres are ready to be acquired.
‘The government is not evincing even least interest to expedite the process. I will raise the issue in the ongoing Assembly session and mobilise the support of all other leaders to exert pressure on the government,’ Mr Umamaheshwara Rao said. Several political leaders, belonging to various parties, including CPI leader and former MLA K Subba Raju, Donepudi Shankar, Akkineni Vanaja, CPM leader V Umameshwara Rao and Congress party leader and former MLA Buragadda Vedavyas predicted that if the port was constructed, the district would witness a rapid development. They said the port would also generate employment in large scale and thus check migration of people seeking livelihood. All the leaders expressed their anger over lackadaisical attitude of government and vowed to extend their solidarity, irrespective of their political affiliations, for the agitation for the Machilipatnam port. Foundation stone for the mega port in Krishna district head-quarters, Machilipatnam, was laid four years ago, but the construction work is yet to begin and the delay was attributed to technical reasons including acquirement of land UNI