Unruly scenes at official meet on Kukunoor merger with AP

Unruly scenes marred a meeting convened by the West Godavari district administration at Kukunoor village on Thursday, which was recently transferred from Palvancha division in Khammam district of Telangana State to the State of Andhra Pradesh.

Sources said a verbal duel followed by a scuffle broke out between the supporters of the Aswaraopet MLA Thati Venkateshwarlu of the YSRCP of Telangana State and the Eluru MP Maganti Babu of the TDP from the West Godavari district when the former reportedly raised objections over the review meeting.

Trouble erupted soon after the commencement of the meeting when Mr Venkateshwarlu, accompanied by his supporters, entered into the meeting hall opposing the review meeting convened by the West Godavari district administration in Kukunoor.

The supporters of Mr Maganti Babu argued with the protesters dismissing their objections. They asserted that Kukunoor was now a part of West Godavari district as per the order published in the Official Gazette.

Mr Maganti Babu and Mr Venkateshwarlu entered into heated arguments at this juncture. A scuffle, subsequently, broke out between the MP's supporters and the MLA's followers, disrupting the proceedings of the meeting for some time.

The supporters of Mr Venkateshwarlu later staged a sit-in at the entrance of the building, the venue of the meeting, accusing Mr Maganti Babu's followers including some local TDP workers of manhandling them. The meeting resumed half an hour later following the intervention of the higher officials.

Top officials of the West Godavari district administration interacted with the local sarpanches and mandal level officials during the meeting.