Demand mounts for service road at Chittoor – Thatchur expressway

Tirupati: The demand for constructing a service road connecting Chittoor – Thatchur expressway in Nagari constituency has been intensifying with CPI leaders, led by its national secretary Dr K Narayana, staging a protest by blocking the road on Sunday. He has been continuously asking the authorities to take up the service road works along with the highway works and even warned that they will stall highway works.

During the ‘Vanta – Varpu’ programme as part of the agitation on Sunday at the expressway, Narayana alleged that farmers voluntarily gave up their lands for Chittoor-Thatchur highway, but Surface Transport officials are turning a blind eye, pushing them towards despair and even suicide. He condemned the stubborn stand of the officials concerned on the issue. He pointed out that three years ago, the government tried to acquire land for the expressway at low prices. However, after persistent protests by CPI and farmers’ associations, the farmers managed to secure compensation of up to Rs 18 lakh per acre. Now, the authorities are ignoring the agreements made with farmers regarding the construction of a service road and erecting poles arbitrarily on the farmers’ lands. He questioned how farmers would be able to access their fields for plowing, sowing and harvesting if high walls are built along the road.

Narayana also criticised the highway construction that disrupts water canals from lakes to farmlands and the negligence in building a necessary bridge near Karur village. He accused the officials of undermining the livelihood of farmers and labourers by ignoring their needs. He demanded the immediate construction of the bridge at Karur and warned that the CPI would continue its agitation until the farmers’ problems were resolved, including staging road blockades.

The protest saw participation from several CPI state executive members, including A Rama Naidu, Rythu Sangham leader Dr T Janardhan and CPI Chittoor and Tirupati secretaries S Nagaraju and P Murali. Other prominent CPI leaders from the two districts also joined the protest.

Meanwhile, Chittoor District Collector Sumit Kumar spoke to Narayana over phone and assured him that he would personally inspect the highway on Tuesday and address the farmers’ grievances, providing a glimmer of hope to the ongoing agitation.