Date:18/04/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/04/18/stories/2005041809230500.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Krishna Madiga set to hit the road from today

Our Staff Reporter

Campaign to cover 13 districts; public meeting in city

HYDERABAD: The founder of the Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi (MRPS), Manda Krishna Madiga, is off on his second padayatra, for 1,500 km from Bangalore to Hyderabad from April 18, seeking to focus attention on the goal of achieving constitutional sanction for the categorisation of the Scheduled Castes.

With the sole agenda of getting the categorisation of SCs into `A', `B', `C' and `D' and get reservations for them in both education and job opportunities, he will cover 13 districts as part of his padayatra before addressing a public meeting at the Parade Grounds here on June11.

"This padayatra for social justice will see Madigas coming together like never before.

The only thing I will be telling them is they should safeguard and judiciously use their only weapon, that of the ballot for the political party which furthers the cause of the Madigas," he said.

Yatra route

Accompanied by a 100 volunteers of the "Madiga Yuva Sena",

Mr. Krishna will leave Bangalore on Monday afternoon. He will touch the State border about 30 km away from Hindupur in Anantapur district and march on, touching Cuddapah, Nellore, Prakasam, Guntur, Nalgonda, Krishna, Khammam, Warangal, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Medak and Ranga Reddy districts.

It may be recalled that he had covered 1,160 km in his first padayatra between April 14 and June 6, 1997, bringing Madigas on to one platform to achieve the demand of categorisation.