Make Ramayapatnam port part of Prakasam district: Student JAC

Ongole: Ramayapatnam Port, which was achieved through agitation for years, should be a part of Prakasam district, demanded the leaders of Andhra Pradesh Vidyarthi JAC and Prakasam Zilla Abhivruddhi Vedika.

Both students and agitators took out a rally from NGOs Home, formed human chain at Church Centre and staged a protest at the Collectorate here on Wednesday. Explaining their demand, Prakasam Zilla Abhivruddhi Vedika president Chunduri Ranga Rao said that the Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy

government proposed to the Union government to construct the major port awarded to the State at

Ramayapatnam in 2012 and the Central Cabinet took a favourable decision.

He alleged that the lobbyists in Nellore managed the UPA government to construct the major port at Dugarajapatnam, in the Reorganisation Act. He recalled that Prakasam district people fought in the Supreme Court against the decision to construct the major port at Dugarajapatnam. He recollected that the report submitted by the agencies appointed by the Central government that the port at Dugarajapatnam is not feasible either geographically or economically helped them win the case and compelled the government to announce Ramayapatnam port. He said that the benefits of Prakasam district people are

put at stake again by the government, and it announced a minor port at Ramayapatnam to make sure the advantages of others are not disturbed.

Ranga Rao lamented that the State government is once again taking a decision against Prakasam district and this time, it is taking away Ramayapatnam itself, with Kandukur Assembly constituency. He worried that with the shifting of the port, locals, specifically the youth will be losing great opportunities in future. He called for the continuation of the agitation by the youth and students with which Prakasam district people got Ramayapatnam port, and not rest until the demand is met.

APVJAC State president Rayapati Jagadeesh said that the politicians from Nellore stooped to such a low and is taking away the Kandukur Assembly constituency with Ramayapatnam port, from the district with headquarters at 40 km distance to the district with headquarters at 120 km. He said that the local students will not leave the agitation like the local politicians did and will continue it until the government announces Kandukur is an integral part of the Prakasam district for permanent.

OPDR State vice-president Chavali Sudhakar Rao, retired bank AGM Dhulipalla Veeranarayana, district APVJAC general secretary V Murali and others also demanded the government to continue Ramayapantam as part of Prakasam district and construct major port with the funds from the union government.