Farmers set to give land, if Mangalagiri is capital

Vijayawada: Farmers of Mangalagiri, Tadikonda, Peda Kakani, Tulluru, Kaza and other areas of Guntur district have agreed to part with their lands for establishment of the state capital. Farmers’ leaders of these areas met on Sunday and demanded the government establish the capital city at Mangalagiri. Former MLA M. Hanumantha Rao, who addressed the farmers’ leaders, said Mangalagiri is the most suitable for new capital as it is  located exactly between Vijayawada and Guntur.

Mr Rao said that farmers were asking for 60-40 share in the land pooling system against the government’s proposal of 40-60 share. He said that big farmers were ready to hand over their farmlands for the new capital, but the small  farmers demanded market price as they would be worst affected in the land pooling system. Farmers’ leader Nannapaneni Nageswara Rao said that farmers were seeking a government job to one family member each and compensation under 60-40 land pooling system. He said that if the government offers suitable compensation and jobs, then it can acquire 50,000 acre land easily in and around Mangalagiri. Farmers M. Chakradhar Rao, T Anjaneyulu and others said that land acquisition would be a herculean task for the government in Vijayawada city due to residential colonies, but it would be easy to get farmlands in and around Mangalagiri. About 500 farmers were present at the meeting.