Amar Singh to lead march from Shegaon for Vidarbha statehood

YAVATMAL: Founder president of Lok Manch and MP Amar Singh is scheduled to launch a 'padyatra' on February 12 from Shegaon aimed at calling the attention of the state and Central governments towards formation of a separate Vidarbha state, said Lok Manch state executive president Mukim Ahmad at a press conference here on Wednesday.
Ahmad said, Singh would undertake the padyatra from Shegaon to Nagpur on February 12.Lok Manch is the protagonist of small states and has undertaken similar padyatras for formation of Purvanchal.
During December 1 and 30, 2010, a 450 km padyatra was taken out from Allahabad to Gorakhpur followed by another padyatra of 200 km between Balliya and Banaras during January 17 and February 1, 2011, said Ahmad.
A preparatory meeting would be arranged at Nagpur before the Shegaon-Nagpur padyatra which would be attended by Bollywood actress Jayaprada, party leaders Obedulla, Aravind Singh and others. They would actively take part in the march and discuss the demand for Vidarbha statehood, he said. Ahmad has urged the pro-Vidarbha leaders and statehood supporters to join wholeheartedly in the march led by Amar Singh.
Expressing concern over the ever-growing mafia activities across the state, Ahmad said that the state government has launched a manhunt followed by action on all the kerosene and petrol mafias.
However, he expressed surprise over the alleged leniency shown to the kerosene mafia leader Kamruddin Gaziyani of Pusad in Yavatmal district. "He has been controlling the kerosene distribution in six tehsils in the district and there are reports of rampant corruption and fuel adulteration," said Mukim, adding that his party would take a lead in forcing the administration to take strong action against the Pusad-based kerosene dealer.