Sowing by tribals in forest land triggers tension

Nizamabad: Forest land sowing by tribals created tension in Nizamabad district on Thursday. Consequently, police arrested three women tribal farmers for creating hurdles to forest department officials who were clearing encroached forest lands.The tribal farmers are sowing various crops in about 50 acres of forest land at Ravutla village of Sirikonda mandal. On coming to know about this, the forest officials warned the villagers to stop sowing.

But the farmers were unrelenting and said that the revenue officials had issued pattas to them on these lands. On Tuesday, the forest officials destroyed the crops with tractors where tribal farmers are sowing various crops. This created stir in village and the left parties and various voluntary organisations staged protest against this issue.

On Thursday, the forest officials tried to dig trenches in these encroached lands with excavators. However, the three tribal women farmers of Ravutla village opposed diggings and created hurdles to the forest officials. The forest officials complained this to the police, who arrived on the scene and arrested the protesting tribal women.

The CPI-ML (New Democracy) leaders V Prabhakar and others staged protest against the arrests in front of Sirikonda Tahsildar office and demanded the officials to immediately release the arrested tribals. Prabhakar said that the tribals are sowing these lands from last two decades and revenue officials also issued the Pattas.

However on the complaint by the forest officials, revenue cancelled the pattas and took back the lands. Prabhakar demanded the government to immediately give pattas and permit tribals to take up sowing operations in these lands.