The protest against the proposed land acquisition for Machilipatnam Port and other industries turned violent, as agitators on Thursday attacked police personnel during a dharna on the National Highway No.214 A here leading to injuries to two of them.
The protesters belonging to Machilipatnam rural mandal led by former MLA Perni Nani blocked the vehicular movements on the highway. They resorted to an attack on the police while the latter attempted to disrupt the dharna by taking Mr. Nani into custody.
Tension prevailed in the coastal belt over the land acquisition, as the revenue officials reportedly feared of attacks on them during the survey.
They also chased the special police for some distance on the road and a mob of locals attacked on them, causing injury. Responding to the attack, the police also resorted to lathi charge and brought the situation under control. “Two constables have been injured. One received injury on his head while another suffered minor injuries. The condition of the duo is safe”, said Machilipatnam Rural Circle Inspector P. Vara Prasad.
Police deployment
The police on Thursday deployed special police force at the sensitive villages in the area where the State Government plans to acquire 14,500 acres of land. The women folk who turned up for the protest warned the police of further attacks.
The farmers and fisherfolk belonging to Hussainpalem, Pedda Karagraharam and other villages in Machilipatnam rural mandal also participated in the protest. Addressing the gathering, Mr. Nani blamed the State Government that the land acquisition notification was issued on the midnight of August 30, deliberately to avoid Social Impact Assessment Study.
“The Government should come to the people with Land Pooling System (LPS) and better resettlement package to be offered to the affected. The LPS will at least enable the owner of the land to take a decision over his/her asset,”, said Mr. Nani. He also came down heavily on the local leaders for choosing social networking as a communication tool to address the issue instead of direct interaction with the affected people.
