The Hindu 28.03.2013
‘Garbage dumping: villagers win first round’
19 persons, including union leader, released on bail.
By securing a stay from High Court on Anakapalle Municipality from dumping the town’s garbage in their village under Sundarayyapeta Panchayat, people of Achayyapeta and those supporting them, won the first round, general secretary of AP Vyavasaya Vrittidarula Union P.S. Ajay Kumar said on Wednesday.
Mr. Ajay Kumar and 19 others, who were arrested after the police used force to disperse the villagers to facilitate Anakapalle Municipality to dump garbage at the village, were released from the Anakapalle sub-jail on Wednesday after the Fifth Metropolitan Magistrate of Anakapalle granted them bail the previous day.
Mr. Ajay Kumar said the Municipal Commissioner, District Collector, local tehsildar and Deputy Superintendent of Police did not bother to take into consideration orders issued in the past by a Division Bench of the High Court barring municipalities from dumping their garbage outside their municipal limits.
Along with this Division Bench’s order the villagers also pointed out in their writ petition that the Anakapalle Municipality did not secure permission from the local gram panchayat and the AP Pollution Control Board for the dumping yard.
The villagers were critical of local MLA and Minister for Investments and Infrastructure Ganta Srinivasa Rao, who they said had won the election on the plank of social justice but declared war on them, and provoked the police to attack the villager. However, the agitation against dumping garbage in the village would continue till the dumping yard was cancelled, the villagers said.
Chalo Achayyapeta
Mr. Ajay Kumar announced that a Chalo Achayyapeta programme will be conducted on Sunday morning in which representatives of the people’s organisations, the left parties, former sarpanches and MPTCs and people from surrounding villages who supported the agitation would participate.
The meeting would commence at 11 a.m.
The villagers demanded the government cancel the allotment of 22 acres made to the Anakapalle Municipality at Achayyapeta; initiate departmental action against the Municipal Commissioner, tehsildar and Deputy Superintendent of Police of Anakapalle and transfer them to ensure an impartial inquiry. They demanded an apology from Mr. Srinivasa Rao for the March 22 incident at the village when the police arrested people and chased away the local villagers to allow dumping of garbage.
The garbage dumped at the village must be removed immediately and cases against the 20 people withdrawn, the villagers demanded.
Rally
On Tuesday night the villagers took out a rally after hearing the High Court ruling and grant of bail to Mr. Ajay Kumar and others. Leader of united front of people’s organisations I.R. Gangadhar, P. Chennayya, Eggada Bhaskara Rao and others said the villagers were not against residents of Sarada Nagar, who have opposed dumping of garbage near their homes, but against dumping of garbage from the town at their village.
