Andhra Pradesh: BJP slams state government over auctioning water bodies

Vijaywada (Andhra Pradesh) [India], September 29 : Andhra Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Somu Veerraju on Wednesday stated that the party is going to hold 'Matsyakara Garjana' (Roar of Fishermen) on October 7 at Nellore against the State Government Order (GO) number 217.
The government is planning to implement the order in the Nellore district as a pilot project. It entails auctioning water bodies to private persons.
BJP, in association with alliance Jana Sena Party (JSP), fishermen cooperative societies and other unions will be holding the protest in which more than 10,000 fishermen will participate, Veerraju informed.
Veerraju also said the fishermen community will lose its natural rights of fishing in water bodies as result and called it a detrimental step as it will take away the fishermen's rights to fish in canals, lakes, tanks and reservoirs.
While addressing the media, he said, "Fishermen are a major community and fishing is one of the vital professions after agriculture and handloom, but the state government is acting against their interests."
"As the party president of BJP, I wrote a letter to state government raising nine questions on that controversial GO on September 12 but there is no response to date," he added.
He further said that fishermen's cooperative societies have been agitating against the order but the state government has not paid any heed.