SP V. Harshavardhan Raju talking to Vidyarthi Yuvajana JAC student cadres who came to present the memorandum at Prakasam Bhavan in Ongola on Monday. | Photo credit: KOMMURI SRINIVAS
Several activists of the Andhra Pradesh Students and Youth Joint Action Committee (JAC) staged a protest at the statue of freedom fighter Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu on the occasion of Prakasam District Formation Day in Ongola on Monday.
They requested the government not to shift the IIIT from the temporary building at Ongola to the new campus at Ballipalli village in Kanigiri mandal of the district, citing the drinking water crisis and other issues. They urged the state government to maintain the same campus.
“Prakasam district is a backward region and there has been no development. IIIT was established in Ongola in 2016 but politicians are trying to shift 6000 students to another area for their selfish reasons,” JAC leader Rayapati Jagadish claimed.
“Police has been unjustly harassing 50 students who were protesting in IIIT campus since last week. They are terrorizing students by checking their mobile phones,” he alleged and demanded that the police leave the campus immediately.
The JAC leader further asserted, “If IIIT continues in Ongola, it will lead to development, but local politicians are trying to shift it for their selfish interests and for the benefit of real estate developers. We will make it a state-level movement if our demands are not met.”
Kommu Rajiv, another student leader, said it was very sad that neither the government nor Education Minister Nara Lokesh had responded despite the ongoing protests on the IIIT campus for the past six days.
Meanwhile, Superintendent of Police (SP) V. Harshavardhan Raju spoke to JAC student activists who had come to present the memorandum at Prakasam Bhavan.
Published – 02 Feb 2026 21:38 IST