Activists of North Andhra on Friday recalled the contribution of Swami Agnivesh, the son of the soil, to the environmental battles waged against the successive governments to protect the Sompeta wetland and Nowpada swamp in Srikakulam district.
He died while undergoing treatment for a liver ailment at a hospital in New Delhi on Friday. Mr. Agnivesh, original name Vepa Shyam Rao, was born in Srikakulam district on September 21, 1939.
Associated with the National Association of People’s Movement (NAPM), he had been a great source of support and inspiration for the movements, they said.
Addressed a meet
“I vividly remember Swami Agnivesh fondly announcing Srikakulam as his birthplace while addressing a local gathering here in December 2010. His support to the struggles for the protection of the Sompeta wetland (known as Beela) and Nowpada swamp added strength to the movements,” said former Human Rights Forum secretary V.S. Krishna.
“Mr. Agnivesh had extended every possible support for the two movements where thermal power projects were proposed and took a firm stance against the State brutality on the people’s movements in the district,” added Mr. Krishna referring to the Sompeta police firing (July 2010) against the protesters.
Sat in protest
Paryavarana Parirakshana Samithi (PPS-Sompeta) president Y. Krishna Murthy said, “Swami Agnivesh had sat for sometime with the protesters at a relay hunger strike venue in Sompeta.”
Post 2010, Swami Agnivesh had joined a dharna in New Delhi, where he spoke on the destructive development planned in Srikakulam district.
