The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Visakhapatnam News : Jagan gets tumultuous welcome

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Tuesday, Jan 04, 2011
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam

Jagan gets tumultuous welcome

Special Correspondent

It took 30 minutes for his convoy to emerge from airport

Jagan unveils YSR statue at NAD Kotha Road
He consoles three families as part of ‘Odarpu yatra'

— Photo: K.R. Deepak

All for a glimpse:A youth climbs up an electric pole to catch a glimpse of Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy as he began his 'Odarpu Yatra' at Visakhapatnam airport on Monday.

VISAKHAPATNAM: Former Kadapa MP Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy got a tumultuous welcome on his arrival at the airport here to launch his ‘Odarpu yatra' in Visakhapatnam district on Monday. A festive atmosphere prevailed on the airport premises with tribal dancers entertaining the crowd and colourful flex banners put up all along the National Highway and on the airport premises.

While about 10,000 people could gain entry into the airport premises, the tantrums of Mr. Jagan's fans went beyond the capability of police force to control and they stopped several vehicles and another 15,000 people on the National Highway No.5. For the convoy to emerge out of the airport it took 30 minutes.

Mr Jagan's supporters collected one lakh signatures on flex banners from all over the district and displayed them along the road leading from airport old terminal to National Highway No.5.

Traditionally dressed women came with vermillion and flowers to welcome him and stopped at every 100 meters before he reached NAD Kotha Road public meeting venue. After unveiling the statue of YSR at NAD Kotha Road, even as he set out on yatra to console a family Padmanabha Nagar near Gopalapatnam, women came out onto the main road with months-old babies to greet Mr. Jagan and give him a traditional welcome.

He spent more than 20 minutes at the house of Kampara Babu Rao, a 31-year-old private electrician, who died on September 5, 2009soon after YSR died in the helicopter crash. Unmarried Babu Rao's mother stays alone in the house and she was presented a cheque for of Rs.1 lakh.

Other two families he consoled as part of the yatra were that of Gandi Bhoolokaiah at Rampuram and Doddi Koteswara Rao (45), dependents of both were eking out a livelihood with small piece of land the family owned. Mr. Jagan is likely to cut short his yatra by three days.

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