Decrying the three-and-a-half-decade delay in resolving the Simhachalam Panchagramalu land dispute, the Samaikya Praja and Raitu Samkshema Sangham staged a demonstration at Simhachalam Junction here on Sunday (June 28. 2026).The protesters, including hundreds of affected residents, threatened to contest the upcoming municipal corporation elections to independently secure their property rights, accusing successive political administrations of systemic apathy.The gathering, led by Sangham leaders V.B.N. Pratap and B. Ramani, slammed the political parties for playing the blame game instead of delivering a conclusive remedy. Addressing the gathering, the association’s former secretary, P.V.S.L.N. Sastry, pointed out the administrative precedents set by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. He recalled that Mr. Naidu successfully regularised similar disputed lands in Chittoor district in the year 2000 and resolved a comparable land issue in the Kuppam constituency within hours just days ago to distribute title deeds. Speakers questioned why a similar will was missing for the five panchayats of Visakhapatnam.Activist A. Aja Sarma rejected the standard official response that sub judice matters restricted State intervention. “Whenever we approach legislators, they shelter behind the pretext of ongoing court litigation. Yet, the State encountered no judicial hurdles when alienating 160 acres of Devasthanam land for the Google Data Centre or assigning land to an international school. The court case is merely a convenient excuse for a lack of political intent,” Mr. Sarma said.The agitation also highlighted the plight of families displaced by urban infrastructure expansion. GVMC 78th Ward Corporator B. Gangaram criticised the State government’s recent freeze on compensation for families who lost their residential structures during the widening of the Simhachalam BRTS corridor.Frustrated by the ongoing impasse, the leadership urged the victims to organise an independent political front for the upcoming local body elections, asserting that the affected communities must elect their own representatives to legislative and municipal bodies to resolve the land issue themselves. Published - June 28, 2026 07:15 pm IST