APNGOs are in the preparatory mode to make the October 2 ‘Rythu Garjana’ a grand success.
According to its Krishna District JAC convener A. Vidyasagar, the members visited and held meetings in over 20 mandals on Sunday to create awareness and motivate the farmers to join the agitation.
He told The Hindu that as a curtain raiser, farmers in about 150 tractors would take out a rally from Pamarru to Vijayawada on Monday.
The ‘Rythu Garjana’ will be held at Hanuman Junction and over 50,000 farmers are expected to participate.
Mr. Vidyasagar informed that engineers from various departments such as R&B, Irrigation would also be joining the ongoing Samaikyandhra agitation.
The APNGOs have been on strike protesting against the proposed bifurcation of the State for the last 45 days. They have not been paid their salaries.
Mr. Vidyasagar said two nationalised banks had come forward to pay them loans as “festival advance” up to Rs. 50,000. “Talks are in the final stages and the banks will pay the amount by October first week,” he said.
Over 6.5 lakh NGOs, 1.5 lakh municipal and corporation employees, 70,000 APSRTC employees, and over 60,000 electricity employees are on strike for four weeks and they are without pay.
Former APNGO city president G. Nageswara Rao said that among the employees who were on strike, the corporation employees and APSRTC employees were the worst hit.
“But the resolve is very high and we will continue the agitation till the government decides to keep the State united,” he said.
Engineers of the R&B Department will join the Samaikyandhra agitation from Monday midnight.
Disclosing this to the media on Sunday, M. Satyanarayana Rao of the R&B Engineers JAC said there were 80 engineers serving in different cadres in the district and the strike would be an indefinite one.
The engineers will be submitting a letter informing about the strike to the Chief Engineer and Principal Secretary of R&B Department on Monday morning.
Superintendents of Irrigation Lock Department from various districts such as Krishna, Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Prakasam, Guntur, Nellore, and East and West Godavari have decided to join the agitation from October 7.
According to the Irrigation Lock Superintendent’s Association General Secretary V.V.L.V. Prasad, a meeting was held here on Sunday and the decision to join the strike was taken in the meeting.
Teachers, who have been on relay fast near the Victoria Jubilee Museum for over 40 days, registered their protest by stripping to their waist and walking on their knees on the Mahatma Gandhi Road.
