The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Opposition to Jindal mounts

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Wednesday, Jul 11, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Opposition to Jindal mounts

Correspondent

VIZIANAGARAM: TDP, CPI and CPI(M) leaders on Tuesday vowed to oppose setting up of alumina refinery at Boddavara in S.Kota mandal.

All parties under the banner Jindal Alumina Vyathirekha Porata Committee planned to organise a ‘maha dharna’ at Boddavara junction. However, following the denial of permission by the police, the parties decided to organise a public meeting. And this too was held on the narrow road margin of Visakhapatnam-Araku Road. According to former MLA Sobha Hymavathi, the police stopped vehicles carrying people from various mandals to the meeting venue. . In fact, police outnumbered the people.

In protest against the "police high-handedness" the protesters and TDP and Left party leaders, including P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju, P. Kameswara Rao (CPI), Tammineni Suryanarayana (CPI-M), squatted on the road for about 20 minutes and raised slogans against Jindal and Minister for Housing Botcha Satyanarayana.

Earlier, addressing the gathering, CPI leader Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy said the struggle against the Jindal’s Alumina unit would be intensified with the support of all political parties in Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram districts and also raise the issue in the Assembly. He said that in the name of irrigation projects and SEZs over six lakh people were being displaced. Of them four-and-a-half lakhs were tribals, he said and advised the Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Government to withdraw the proposal.

Mr. Ashok Gajapathi Raju said it was unfortunate that the Government had turned a deaf ear to the majority opinion of small and marginal farmers, who were once Thadipudi reservoir oustees.

He said the pollutants from the factory would contaminate Gosthani water on which three municipalities viz Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam and Bhimili depend for drinking water. He assured the gathering that all opposition parties would fight for their cause. Former ministers Reddy Satyanarayana, Bandaru Satyanarayana, TDP president Y. Ramana Murty, former MLAs were present.

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