Andhra: Several Police Personnel Injured As Violent Protests Erupt Against Renaming Konaseema District After Dr B.R Ambedkar

Several police personnel, including Konsaseema district superintendent of police Subba Reddy, sustained injuries as clashes erupted between Konaseema Sadhana Samithi (KSS) members and the police during the ‘Chalo Konaseema’ march, which was taken today (May 24) against the proposal to rename Konaseema district as Dr B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district.

Thousands of protestors resorted to stone-pelting and set fire to government vehicles. Many cops had to flee from the scene as the protesters outnumbered them and pelted stones from all directions.

Last week, the local administration imposed Section 144 in the Konaseema district in the wake of protests against the proposal to rename the district.

On May 20, the Andhra Pradesh government announced that the Konaseema district would be renamed Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar Konaseema district. The district’s headquarters will be at Amalapuram.

The state government led by Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy decided to rename Konaseema after demands by Dalit organisations that a district in the state must be named after the architect of the Indian Constitution.

The Konaseema region, which was carved out as a new district from the erstwhile East Godavari district, is part of the Amalapuram (SC-reserved) Lok Sabha constituency.

On March 30, the State Cabinet, chaired by the Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy cleared a proposal to create 13 new districts and 22 new revenue divisions in the state. After the reorganisation, the state now has 26 districts, with an average of 19.7 lakh people per district.