India News | AP Farmers Launch Foot March for Capital Amaravati

Amaravati, Nov 1 (PTI): Hundreds of farmers on Monday launched a 45-day padayatra (foot march), 'Nyayasthanam to Devasthanam' (court to temple), demanding that Amaravati be retained as the capital of Andhra Pradesh.

Also Read | Shirur Vidhan Sabha Constituency in Maharashtra: Sitting MLA, Candidates For Assembly Elections 2019, Results And Winners.

The Telugu Desam Party, Congress, CPI and other parties extended support to the farmers.

Also Read | Odisha BSE 10th Result 2019 Not Today: Class 10 Board Exam Scores to Be Declared Soon Online at bseodisha.ac.in; Here's List of Website to Check Marks.

Former Union Minister Renuka Chowdhury drove a tractor, as the farmers marched on, and extended solidarity with them.

For over 680 days now, farmers in the Amaravati region have been continuing an agitation opposing the Jagan Mohan Reddy government's move to trifurcate the state capital.

They are also fighting a legal battle on the issue.

The farmers, who reportedly parted with over 33,000 acres of their fertile lands for the construction of divided AP's new capital, have now undertaken the padayatra to Tirumala, the abode of Lord Venkateswara, to press their demand for retaining Amaravati as the sole capital of the state.

The foot march will traverse through over 70 villages in Guntur, Prakasam, SPS Nellore and Chittoor districts before reaching temple-town Tirupati on December 17.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)