Andhra Pradesh demolition drama: Pawan Kalyan walks to Ippatam in filmy style, slams Jagan government

Hundreds of Jana Sena workers followed him, and eventually, the crowds swelled as the police didn’t prevent him from walking.

Pawan Kalyan walked almost 3 kilometres to reach Ippatam, so stand in solidarity with its residents, after local civic authorities on Friday razed portions of at least 50 houses using heavy machinery and JCBs.

The authorities stopped the demolitions after a direction from the high court late on Friday afternoon.

While the civic authorities claimed that the compound walls of some houses were demolished to make way for road expansion, Pawan Kalyan accused the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government in the state of engaging in political vendetta.

కొట్టుకోండి.. తిట్టుకోండి.. చంపుకోండి.. అరెస్ట్ చేసుకోండి.. – జనసేన అధ్యక్షులు శ్రీ పవన్ కళ్యాణ్ గారు @PawanKalyan#JanaSenaWithIppatam pic.twitter.com/rVAgNdgqZr

— JanaSena Party (@JanaSenaParty) November 5, 2022

The Ippatam-Jana Sena connection

In March, when no one came forward to spare land to let the Jana Sena hold its formation day meeting, a group of Ippatam residents offered 13 acres of land.

In April, the local civic body began issuing notices to a few residents saying it would demolish portions of their properties to expand the existing 60-foot road to 120 feet.

The residents approached the court against the notices. Meanwhile, after serving another round of notices on Thursday, civic staff started demolitions on Friday morning.

Pawan Kalyan reached Vijayawada on Friday night, so that he could visit Ippatam on Saturday.

Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan on his way to the Ippatam village in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday, 5 November, 2022. (Supplied)

After meeting Ippatam residents, he said: “The government is unable to repair roads elsewhere, but wants to expand the road in Ippatam, which doesn’t even have a bus facility. The Jagan government played with our soil. It will be buried in the same soil.”

Ippatam has a population of 4,120 and 1,277 households, and Pawan Kalyan has been visiting the village or meeting its residents frequently. He also celebrated his birthday in his party office at Mangalagiri with the residents of this village.

Pawan Kalyan also donated ₹50 lakh of his own money to development works in Ippatam.

Meanwhile, TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu also condemned the demolitions and found fault with the government for not allowing Pawan Kalyan to visit Ippatam.

ఈ వైసిపి ప్రభుత్వానికి పోయే కాలం దాపురించి దిక్కుమాలిన పనులు చేస్తుంది. శిశుపాలుడిలా జగన్ రెడ్డి వంద తప్పులు దాటాయి…ఇక మిగిలింది ప్రభుత్వ పతనమే. ఆంధ్రప్రదేశ్ అంటే హింస, దాడులు, కూల్చివేతలు, అడ్డగింతలు, అక్రమ అరెస్టులు అన్నట్లుగా మార్చేశారు.(1/3) pic.twitter.com/vnUwA8b7pN

— N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) November 5, 2022

Local authority defends demolitions

Tadepalli Municipal Commissioner U Sarada Devi said no residential house had been demolished in Ippatam.

She said encroachers had been informed several times since April this year to remove demarcated structures built on encroached land.

“The structures demolished or removed were majorly compound walls and commercial constructions made by the encroachers on the road in front of their houses,” she said.

“For the sake of the development of Ippatam Main road and for the construction of a drain (survey No 156 of Ippatam), the said road was surveyed by the town surveyor and the village surveyor of Ippatam village, and 53 encroachments were identified on both sides, and some were demarcated.”

Devi also said: “Show-cause notices were issued to the encroachers in April under Sections 405, 406, 639, and 640 of the APMC Act of 1955 for the removal of encroachments within a reasonable time of seven days.”

She added: “After the first warning and a show-cause notice in April, the encroachers were warned again in May. They were also intimated several times and were given reasonable time by the concerned official to remove the structures built on encroached lands.”

Devi explained: “Their failure to comply led to the government taking strict action and removing the encroachments with the assistance of the police.”

Government slams ‘misinformation campaign’

The YSRCP on Saturday, after  Pawan Kalyan’s visit to Ippatam, slammed the Opposition for allegedly spreading misinformation on the removal of encroachments.

Claiming that the TDP and the Jana Sena were deliberately ruffling public sentiment with a communal agenda, Andhra Pradesh Housing Minister Jogi Ramesh said, ”The public should know what is happening at Ippatam. An unnecessary drama is being staged by the Opposition where no house has been demolished. In reality, only the compound wall of commercial constructions, which encroached on the road, have been demolished for the construction of a sewage line.”

He added: “The TDP and Jana the Sena are behaving as if something draconian is happening in Ippatam, and are trying to give a communal spin to the demolition. It looks like the Opposition does not wish to see development in Ippatam. They should know that the public has already volunteered to cooperate with road-widening works.”