Sarada Peetham seer opposes bauxite mining

Vishakapatnam: Visakha Sarada Peetham seer Swami Swaroopanandendra Saraswati has extended his support to the anti-Bauxite agitation on Friday. The seer visited Peddabayalu mandal of Vishakapatnam Agency. He has donated bed-sheets and sarees to tribal woman on this occasion.

Speaking to media, he said that politicians are cashing in on the ignorance of the tribal people. Swaroopanandendra Saraswati also said that the bauxite hills that the government is eyeing were ones that had once given shelter to Lord Rama and Krishna.

“Try mining Tirupati and Simhachalam hills,” Swaroopanandendra Saraswati challenged the TDP Government. “Will the devotees forgive you?”, he questioned. He called upon the tribals to strongly fight the attempts to mine the hills in the tribal areas.

TDP government has passed GO 97, giving permission to mine Araku Hills in Vishakapatnam for bauxite. Opposition YSRCP and several NGOs are backing the tribals in their anti-bauxite stir.

Vijayawada: Thousands of Anganwadi workers took out a rally in Vijayawada on Friday demanding immediate solution to their long-pending grievances. The rally turned violent as police foiled the rally and arrested at least 200 workers.

The ‘Chalo Vijayawada' programme was to pressurise on immediate implementation of the wage hikes for the Anganwadi workers. The agitators were marching towards the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister’s Camp office in Vijayawada. The rally was supported by CITU and other trade unions.