In the yesteryear Sumanth- starrer 'Sathyam', there is a line 'Pallaki Mosevadu ekkedeppudo' (When shall the palanquin bearer ride in it?) And that seems to be a pretty valid query as far as the citizens of AP and especially the farmers are concerned.
The government has issued a notification for pooling 1230 acres of land for the expansion and modernization of Gannavaram airport towards making it an international one.
It has already set itself a target of acquiring 15000 acres for an airport at Bhogapuram. Not to speak of the one lakh acres for the new capital at Amaravathi.
Yet, at none of these places has the government managed to convince the farmers to part with their lands amicably save for a few isolated occasions when the latter happened to belong to the ruling community.
Once the lands are acquired by the government, the farmer can no longer cultivate them. And at place like Gannavaram, the government and the farmers are yet to agree on the terms and conditions with the latter demanding market price for their lands.
Who in AP will need international airports at Bhogapuram and Gannavaram when the existing one at Vizag itself is running below capacity? But truth be told, there is little choice the farmers have in the matter.
If they protest, their fields might be torched overnight. Every time, the state needs any fancied development, inevitably it is the farmers who have to sacrifice their fertile lands although they will in all likelihood never realize the fruits of development themselves.
