Mild tension prevailed at C.Ramapuram village as municipal authorities resumed dumping of garbage from the city there with the assistance of police personnel, in the early hours of Friday. With the talks over the shifting of the dumping yard, as demanded by the people of the village, remaining inconclusive despite assurances by the district administration, the officials imposed Section 144 in the area and went ahead with their work.
Clearing the blockades set up by the villagers preventing the movement of vehicles into C.Ramapuram, the officials resumed the dumping of garbage at the site.
About 30 protesters were taken into custody and shifted to different police stations. Chandragiri legislator Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy was arrested by the police even before he could arrive at the protest venue and shifted to B.N. Kandriga police station near Srikalahasthi.
Scores of tractors and trucks were lined up to dispose of the waste, which had accumulated over the past few days, in the village. The municipal officials said that the process would continue till all the accumulated 800 tonne of garbage was dumped at the yard.
Negotiations
The issue began when the officials conducted a survey for examining the feasibility of setting up a waste-to-energy plant at the dumping yard at C.Ramapuram. Though there were a series of meetings conducted by the municipal authorities with the local people, political leaders and representatives from various sections of society, the issue remained unsolved.
In the first meeting, the representatives from the village agreed for continuing the dumping yard and had opposed the setting up of the waste-to-energy plant, which according to the officials, was not yet decided as it was just a survey. This agreement, however, was not stressed upon during the second meeting chaired by Chittoor Collector P.S. Pradyumna, and the officials’ request for a few more days time for an amicable resolution of the issue was agreed upon.
Interestingly, Mr. Chevireddy, who had supported the protest from the beginning, was not present in both meetings.
