Amaravati, May 18 (IANS): The Andhra Pradesh government on Wednesday decided to rename the newly-created Konaseema district as the Dr B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district.
A notification to this effect is likely to be released soon. The decision came following demands from various parties, Dalit groups and public representatives to rename the district after the architect of Indian Constitution.
Some organisations had also staged protests demanding the government to rename the districts as Dr B. R. Ambedkar Konaseema district.
With Amalapuram as its headquarters, Konaseema district was created along with 12 other districts on April 4, taking the total number of districts in the state to 26.
A district each was named after freedom fighter Alluri Sitharama Raju, former Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founder N. T. Rama Rao, who was popular as NTR, spiritual leader Satya Sai Baba and 15th-century saint poet Tallapaka Annamacharya, popularly known as Annamayya.
The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government headed by Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had come under criticism from Dalit groups and others for not naming a district after Ambedkar.
Meanwhile, leaders of the YSRCP and different organisations have hailed the decision of the state government.