Telugu Desam leader and former Minister Bandaru Satyanarayana Murthy on Monday launched fast-unto-death at Parawada near here demanding immediate shifting of people hit by pollution caused by Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City (JNPC).
Along with him, former Parawada mandal parishad president Neela Babu, TDP mandal unit president K. Venkataramana and former sarpanch of Mutyalammapalem Chintakayala Mutyalu also launched indefinite fast in front of Pharma City. Earlier, they went to the protest camp in a rally from nearby Tadi village.
Mr. Murthy blamed the district administration, Ramky, the developer of Pharma City and APIIC for not taking a firm decision on relocation of the villagers of Tadi. “They are suffering from skin and respiratory problems. Children of the village are having stunted growth. The groundwater is totally contaminated,” he alleged.
The former Minister said the Central Bureau of Investigation was now investigating into how Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority (VUDA) had given permission to reduce the green belt area by Ramky at a time when pollution in the area had reached alarming proportions.
Taking strong exception to reports that their protest would be thwarted with an imminent arrest, he said: “If I am arrested, I will immolate myself.”
Though there was a solution to the problem by shifting the pollution-hit villagers to 150 acres of the area identified at Peda Mushidivada by the district administration, the authorities concerned were not showing any interest by conniving with Ramky, he stated.
Talks fail
Units coming up in the area earmarked for green belt were posing a grave danger to the safety of people living in Tadi, a distance of 50 metres from Pharma City. He said they had launched indefinite fast after several rounds of talks with Ramky and district administration to hammer out a solution failed during past two to three years.
