Women recite Vishnu Sahasranama, demand that AP capital not be relocated

Demanding that the Andhra Pradesh government drop the plan to relocate the capital, women on Wednesday recited 'Vishnu Sahasranama' and offered special prayers at a village where Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation-stone on October 22, 2015, for development of Amaravati.

The women belonged to the families that surrendered their fertile agricultural lands for the development of the capital. Vishnu Sahasranama is a compilation of thousand names of Lord Vishnu. The women conducted special pujas in a traditional manner at Uddandarayunipalem village, praying that their future not be pushed into darkness. They cooked sweet pongal as an offering to God on the occasion.

The farmers and their families have been on an agitation path since December 18 demanding that the YSR Congress government drop its move to shift the executive capital to Visakhapatnam. In Tulluru, youth played sports and games in the open as part of the protest against the proposal to shift the capital.

Sporting face masks of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, youngsters did exercises on the road. In Velagapudi, children joined their elders in the relay fast, while the farmers wrote letters to the Municipal Administration Secretary and the Capital Region Development Authority Commissioner, stating they were the ones who gave up their lands for the capital development. "We are not paid artists, they asserted, rebutting the claims of YSRC leaders.

At Tallayapalem village, the protestors conducted a "jala deeksha", standing waist-deep in river Krishna and demanding that Amaravati be continued as the state capital. BJP state president Kanna Lakshmi Narayana visited the agitating farmers and extended solidarity. "The state capital should not be changed whenever a regime changes. The union government granted funds for the development of the capital after the farmers surrendered their lands. The states' development will be hit if the capital is relocated, Kanna said.