Thousands of farmers in Amaravati, the capital region of Andhra Pradesh, on Saturday protested against the proposed shifting of the state’s administrative capital to Visakhapatnam.

The farmers, from 29 villages, blocked roads and staged dharnas. They put up barricades and prevented police personnel from entering the villages.

The villagers, who have been observing a “non-cooperation movement” since Friday, denied drinking water, tea and snacks to the police personnel.

Several educational institutions, banks and commercial establishments in the region were forced to down their shutters as part of the shutdown called by the farmers.

Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a US-based global consulting firm has recommended that the state administration be shifted to Visakhapatnam.

At Mandadam village, where protesters alleged on Friday that police personnel dragged women and whisked them away in vehicles for squatting on the road as part of a protest, farmers refused to let police vehicles into the village.

The farmers of the region had recently written a letter to Indian President Ram Nath Kovind seeking a direction to “stall the process of shifting the capital city” or else grant them “permission for mercy killing”.

Source: Hindustan Times