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Thursday, Jan 24, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Storm brewing over SEZ

Staff Reporter

SHRC seeks report on ‘forcible’ land acquisition

Telugu Desam roadshow on January 28
Left parties keep a low profile on the issue

Kakinada: A storm is brewing over the Kakinada Special Economic Zone (KSEZ) as all the Opposition parties have strongly disapproved the manner in which the project work is being carried out in alleged defiance of the strictures passed by the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC).

The district administration is once again in the eye of the storm as it has been ordered by SHRC to submit a report on fresh allegations that fertile lands are being forcibly acquired by officials.

The SHRC had ordered status quo to be maintained till it passes its judgment on the petition wherein the officials are accused of taking coercive measures that amounted to violating human rights.

While the officials are preparing themselves to face the SHRC, the main political parties -- Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and BJP -- have resolved to ‘fight till the finish’ and if necessary approach the National Human Rights Commission to get justice done to farmers.

Parties’ stand

On its part, the BJP has vowed to raise the KSEZ issue at its national council meeting. The TDP is gearing up for a roadshow by its president N. Chandrababu Naidu on January 28. Mr. Naidu will interact with the people of Thondangi and U. Kotthapalli mandals where the KSEZ is coming up.

Both the Left parties are keeping a low profile with respect to the stir against KSEZ while the CPI (ML) Liberation has expressed solidarity with farmers and some of its leaders have gone to jail for allegedly instigating farmers against the KSEZ officials when the latter were discharging their duties at the project site recently.

Meanwhile, the All India Agricultural Labourers’ Association has, at its meeting held here on Tuesday, decided to organise a nationwide agitation demanding the annulling of the new SEZ policy, calling it a conspiracy aimed at benefiting the industrialists.

On the other hand, police personnel continue to keep a vigil in and around the villages where KSEZ is proposed to be set up, to prevent any untoward incident.

Though there has been no major confrontation over the KSEZ, the situation is tense as the project affected people are apprehensive of the government’s intentions in pushing through what they have described as the ‘special exploitation zone’.

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