3 days ago
Memorial park in honour of freedom fighter Pandu Padal in ASR district
Visakhapatnam: Alluri Sitarama Raju district administration has decided to construct a memorial park in memory of tribal freedom fighter Bonangi Pandu Padal, a staunch follower of revolutionary Alluri Sitarama Raju.
They also plan to develop a home stay tourism initiative at his native village Gondipakalu in Chintapalli mandal.
For the first time, the district administration officially celebrated freedom fighter Padal's birthday on Wednesday. The district collector, former MLA Giddi Eswari, and others visited his native village and garlanded the statue erected by his son, Siva Raj Padal, in 2012. Since then, the villagers have been celebrating Padal's birthday.
Padal was one of the loyal soldiers of Sitarama Raju, following Gam Gantam Dora and Mallu Dora. Padal was born on Aug 13, 1890, in Gondipakalu village to the family of Bonandi Andayya and Bangaramma. He married Lingayamma from the same village at the age of 30 and joined Alluri's fight in the freedom struggle. Padal, along with Sitarama Raju, attacked many police stations, including those at Rampachodavaram, KD Peta, Addateegala, Chintapalli, and Rajavommangi.
He played a key role in the attack on British officers Hyter and Clawart in 1922, which put him on the wanted list of British army, leading to Padal going underground.
His sister, Ramayamma, helped the British capture him in June 1924, after she and her family members were brutally tortured by the British army. He was sentenced to death on May 11, 1925, by the Visakhapatnam session court, but it was later converted to life sentence.
He was imprisoned in the cellular jail in Andaman for two decades till the country gained independence.
After his release, Padal settled down in Andaman and married another woman, Parvathi, when his first wife Lingayamma refused to come to Andaman. He was blessed with five sons and six daughters. Padal died on Feb 11, 1974. His children later visited Gondipakalu and met his local family members.
The district collector said Padal's statue would be erected, and his life history would be displayed in the Tribal Freedom Fighters Museum, which is under construction at Lammasingi. A stall of tribal farm produce would also be arranged in the museum, and self-employment opportunities would be arranged for the heirs of Padal, the collector promised.
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