Nellore: In an important step toward addressing long-pending issues faced by local farmers and workers, Kovur MLA Vemireddy Prashanthi Reddy met with district collector O. Anand to discuss unresolved payments and the future of the non-functional Kovur Cooperative Sugar Factory, reported Deccan Chronicle.
A major outcome of the meeting was a plan to transfer 124 acres of land belonging to the defunct sugar factory to the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) for the development of an Industrial Estate. Both the MLA and the collector appealed to farmers to support the move. Leaders from various farmers’ unions agreed to cooperate.
Prashanthi Reddy explained that the proposed industrial estate could bring direct employment to around 10,000 people and create indirect opportunities for another 20,000. Representatives from farmers’ unions and workers also joined the meeting, stressing the urgent need for the government to clear long-pending payments.
The MLA urged the collector to take quick action to release payments owed to farmers and laborers. It was also decided that legal issues surrounding the factory’s reopening and related land matters—currently tied up in courts—should be settled peacefully through mutual understanding.
Participants at the meeting acknowledged that restarting the sugar factory, which has been closed for more than 10 years, may not be a practical option. Instead, they agreed to look for alternative solutions that would benefit the local community.
Speaking to the press afterward, Prashanthi Reddy expressed her gratitude to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for acting quickly on her request in the Legislative Assembly by approving the release of ₹28 crore in pending wages to factory workers.
She also assured that the opinions and concerns raised by farmer and labor leaders during the meeting would be personally brought to the Chief Minister’s attention.
Penna Delta Project Committee chairman Jetti Rajagopal Reddy and farmer leaders Gandavarapu Srinivasulu Reddy, Hari Reddy, Thirumuru Ashok Reddy, Jetti Ravindra Reddy, and Bezawada Vamsikrishna Reddy were present at the meeting.
