AP: Konaseema district name change protests lead to lathicharge in Amalapuram
There was tension in the town with hundreds of youths staged protests on Tuesday against changing the name of Konaseema district and police resorting to lathicharge to disperse them.
The youths under the banner Konaseema Zilla Sadhana Samiti, gathered at the Clock Tower junction and raised slogans –‘Konaseema zilla muddu …Vere peroddu’. Upon this, police entered the scene and took some protesters into custody. However, some of them escaped and ran towards the Collectorate, with police in hot pursuit.
Meanwhile, district Superintendent of Police Subba Reddy who went to the spot to review the situation, also tried to disperse the crowds. This saw some of the protesters pelting stones against the police near the Area Hospital and Subba Reddy had a lucky escape. Police then resorted to lathicharge at Nalla Vantena in the town and some policemen as well as protesters were injured in the stone-pelting incident.
The Andhra Pradesh government recently announced changing the name of Konaseema district as ‘Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district’, and called for objections and suggestions, if any, to be submitted to the collector within 30 days. Some of the youths who wanted the name of Konaseema district to be continued, were said to have begun an agitation in pursuit of their demand.
