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Protestors set Andhra minister’s house on fire amid violence over renaming district
When the protestors tried to lay siege to the district collector’s office in the evening, the police resorted to lathi-charge to disperse them. The agitated mob attacked the police and indulged in stone pelting, resulting in injuries to a few police personnel.
Hyderabad: Protestors set ablaze the residence of state transport minister Pinipe Vishwaroop and also that of YSR Congress party MLA Ponnada Venkata Satish as violence broke out in Amalapuram town, the district headquarters of Andhra Pradesh’s Konaseema district, over renaming the district after Dr B R Ambedkar.
Thousands of protesters from all parts of the district gathered at Amalapuram following a call given by Konaseema Sadhana Samithi and staged demonstrations at the local Clock Tower Junction and raised slogans – “Konaseema Zilla Muddu, Vere Peru Voddu” (We want Konaseema district, we don’t want any other name).
When the protestors tried to lay siege to the district collector’s office in the evening, the police resorted to lathi-charge to disperse them. The agitated mob attacked the police and indulged in stone pelting, resulting in injuries to a few police personnel.
With the situation rapidly going out of hand, district superintendent of police K S S V Subba Reddy rushed to the area along with additional police force to quell the mob. The irate protestors pelted stones at the SP, who sustained injuries on his head. They also set fire to several vehicles parked on the roadside.
Later, hundreds of protestors stormed the residence of transport minister Pinipe Viswaroop in Kamanagaru area. They attacked the house with stones, broke the window panes and ransacked the furniture. They also damaged the escort vehicle of the minister’s convoy.
Though the minister was not in town, the police shifted the family members of the minister before the protestors attacked the house.
Later, the protestors went to the housing board colony in the town and attacked the house of Mummidivaram MLA Satish and set fire to his house too.
Eluru range deputy inspector general of police G Pala Raju said additional forces are being rushed from Rajahmundry, Kakinada and neighbouring West Godavari and Krishna districts to Amalapuram to bring the situation under control. “We have taken several protestors into custody. The situation is under control now,” Raju said.
Last week, the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government issued a notification seeking to change the name of Konaseema district into Dr B R Ambedkar Konaseema district. The notification called for any objections and suggestions to be submitted to the collector within 30 days.
In fact, Konaseema district is a new district, carved out from erstwhile combined East Godavari with Amalapuram as its headquarters, as part of reorganisation of 13 districts into 26 with effect from April 26. Konaseema region, known for its greenery and coconut plantations, has a sizeable population of the Dalit community which has been demanding that a district in the state must be named after Dr BR Ambedkar.
However, a large section of youth in the district reacted strongly to the renaming of the district, stating that the Konaseema name should not be prefixed with any other name. They formed a joint action committee under Konaseema Zilla Sadhana Samithi and have been protesting against renaming of the district.
