On Thursday, July 20th, the government of Andhra Pradesh had once again created tension among people of Tundurru village, by using police force and registering false cases. The police had brutally attacked women and anti-food park agitation committee activists who tried to obstruct the entry of eight containers to the aqua park site. Villagers started opposing the unit after it emerged that the the park would require 1.5 lakh litres water for daily operations and would discharge about 50,000 litres of effluents.
About 50 villagers, mostly women, were taken into custody and shifted to the Narasapuram police station. Aqua Park Vyatireka Porata Samithi convenor Areti Vasu, his mother Areti Satyavathi, AIDWA district secretary D Kalyani and divisional president P Poorna were among the arrested. The government's cruelty can be witnessed in the video attached. The residents of Tundurru, Kamsali Bethapudi and Jonnalagaruvu villages, located a few kilometres from the food park site, have been demanding relocation of the factory for the last three years.
Projected shortage of water for irrigation and the threat of environmental pollution prompted the people to raise their voice against the project. “Instead of addressing villagers’ grievances, the government resorted to create panic among people by using police force and registering false cases. All those who are active in the movement are either facing cases or absconding. As a party for the masses, CPI (M) expresses solidarity and extends support to the villagers.