The bandh called by the tribal organisations demanding that the State Government resolve long-pending issues in the Agency evoked good response in Araku, Paderu and a few other mandals in Alluri Sitharama Raju district on Sunday.
Members of various tribal organisations and student union leaders took out rallies, formed human chains and staged sit-ins at various places in the Agency. In a few mandals, leaders from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) extended their support to the protestors.
RTC buses plying towards Visakhapatnam from Paderu, Araku Valley and other places were confined to the depots, causing inconvenience to commuters. Most of the shops were voluntarily closed in mandal headquarters of Paderu, Araku, Ananthagiri, G Madugula and others.
Killo Surendra from AP Girijan Sangham (APGS), who took part in the protest along with other members at Paderu, said that one of their major demands was that the State Government should provide legal sanctity for implementation of G.O No. 3, reserving all the jobs in the Adivasi areas for tribals.
Special DSC notification
The tribal organisation leaders said that the government should also release a special DSC notification for the tribals. The government has withdrawn the services of Vidya Volunteers and despite requests and protests, their services were not extended. They demanded that the government restore the services of Vidya Volunteers again. They also sought resolution of problems pertaining to the Polavaram project evacuees.
Several tribal organisations from the city have extended their support to the bandh being organised in the Agency areas. They staged a protest near Dr B.R. Ambedkar statue near Daba Gardens area here on Sunday and raised slogans demanding that the government implement G.O No 3.
