The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of farmers has decided to lay siege to the house of BRS MLA Gampa Goverdhan on 20 January demanding that the state government withdraw the Master Plan of Kamareddy town that shows industrial and recreational zones coming up on their land.
The committee has chalked a series of protests to put pressure on the state government to cancel the Master Plan.
Following pressure from irate farmers, two BJP councillors, S Ravi and K Srinivas, have submitted their resignations.
A couple of Congress councillors also submitted their resignations and handed them over to senior Congress leader and former minister Mohammed Shabbir Ali.
Ali, in turn, has given the resignations to the JAC leaders.
With the councillors from the BJP and Congress submitting their resignations, the pressure is now on the councilors from the BRS.
The BRS councillors are in a dilemma whether to support farmers’ agitation or wait till they get instructions from the party leadership in Hyderabad.
The JAC has fixed a deadline for the remaining councillors to submit their resignations by January 23.
Related: Tension in Kamareddy as farmers intensify stir
Farmers’ demands
It has also demanded the district administration convene a special meeting of the council by 23 January and announce that the Master Plan has been withdrawn.
The JAC leaders said the agitation would continue till the state government conceded to their demand. On their part, police officials are leaving no stone unturned in tightening security in the town in the wake of farmers’ protests.
Apart from posting special pickets at the district Collectorate office and municipal office, the police deployed additional forces at strategic locations to prevent any untoward incidents in the town.
Security has also been tightened at the house of elected representatives, mostly belonging to the ruling party, in the district.
Stir without substance?
The Telangana High Court had on 11 January refused to stay the draft master plan proposal for Kamareddy town when the farmers filed a petition with it.
The high court had justified its decision on the ground that nothing like the farmers were anticipating was going to happen overnight in regard to the draft Master Plan.
The Telangana High Court, in fact, referred to the fate of the master plans for Hyderabad and Warangal, which had been gathering dust for years.
It felt that the country would have progressed by leaps and bounds if things happened as they were scheduled.
It asked the government to file its counter, while adjourning the next hearing to 25 January.
