A. Venkata Rama Rao, a farmer from Krishnayapalem village in Mangalagiri Mandal of Guntur district, feels like a pawn in a game played in the corridors of power. In 2015, Rama Rao surrendered to the Andhra Pradesh State government about 6 acres of fertile land on the banks of the Krishna river for the development of Amaravati, slated to be the State capital.
After the bifurcation of AP and Telangana (TS), he, like thousands of farmers across 29 villages, gladly gave up his land for the promise of ‘developed’ land in the future, annuity for a decade, and a vision of a new Capital that would contribute to Telugu pride.
“That was the time when our State was going through a turbulent period due to bifurcation (in 2014). Chandrababu Naidu (then the Chief Minister) was looking for a place to get the capital city built, after having had to move out of Hyderabad (the capital would be shared for the next 10 years),” he says, of the emotion he felt at the perceived injustice. “He asked us to give our lands for the capital, and we had no second thoughts. It was for a cause, and I had little thought about my family’s future,” he said.
