Farmers and people from other walks of life of Gopuvanipalem village on Sunday agreed to surrender 712 acres in their village under the Land Pooling Scheme for the proposed deep sea port, during a public meet held under the aegis of Law Minister K. Ravindra.
The villagers, led by Valisetti Babu, agreed to part with the land on the condition of exemption for certain extent of land that would be required for village needs in future. Addressing the gathering at Gopuvanipalem, Mr. Ravindra said, “I will facilitate a meeting with Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to discuss your [villagers] issues regarding exemption of the land for the village needs.”
Ravindra’s appeal
Reminding that at least 3,200 acres had already been handed over to the Department of Ports, Mr. Ravindra appealed to the villagers of Tapasipudi, Manginapudi and Chilakalapudi to part with their land for the port and help begin the work soon. A total of 797 acres was yet to be acquired for the port from the three villages — Tapasipudi (412 acres), Manginapudi (292 acres) and Chilakalapudi (93 acres).
Machilipatnam Urban Development Authority’s Deputy Collectors and other officials congratulated the residents of Gopuvanipalem on their initiative.