Andhra municipal chairman takes bath in front of office

Amaravati: In a novel protest over alleged corruption in Tadipatri municipality in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district, municipal chairman J.C. Prabhakar Reddy took a bath in front of the municipal office on Tuesday.

Prabhakar Reddy, a leader of opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP), sat on a chair and took a bath in front of the municipal office.

He along with TDP councilors were on a sit-in at the municipal office since Monday, demanding action against the corrupt.

Prabhakar Reddy, a former MLA, spent the night under a tent along with other protesters.

After his bath, he continued his sit-in.

TDP leaders and workers from surrounding areas reached there to express solidarity with him.

TDP councilors on Monday launched a protest against corruption in the municipality. They alleged that the municipal commissioner and other officials were not taking any action.

The protesters submitted a memorandum to the statue of Mahatma Gandhi. They also cooked the food at the protest camp at the municipal office.

The TDP councilors demanded that the commissioner take responsibility for the theft of diesel and tyres from the municipal office.

They alleged that the commissioner was ignoring irregularities being committed by the ruling party YSR Congress. Later, Prabhakar Reddy also joined the protesters at the camp.

Earlier, the municipal chairman was kept under house arrest when he was to stage a protest over illegal sand mining in Penna river.

The police stopped him from leaving for Peddapur to inspect the banks of the river where sand is being illegally mined.

Prabhakar Reddy, however, managed to leave the house and sat on a road to protest the police action.

He was later detained and shifted to a police station.