Tribals on warpath over forest rights

Khammam: With Kharif season and Haritha Haram in full swing, the growing dissonance between the Podu cultivators and the State seems to be reaching a flashpoint in the tribal pockets of Khammam district with each passing day.

Albeit the Podu issue has been there for decades, it appears that the State’s perception about the rights of the tribals over the forests has not changed even a decade after the Indian Parliament had passed the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act aka the Forest Rights Act (FRA).

Since the onset of the monsoon this year, especially after the commencement of the ongoing plantation drive, it's no exaggeration to say that not a single day passed without a confrontation between the Podu cultivators and the State, represented by forest department.

Wednesday’s incident in which police and forest officials allegedly attacked the Podu farmers at Regalla village near Kothagudem is just the tip of the iceberg that reflects what is happening in the tribal pockets of the district.

There was an altercation between the Podu farmers and officials when the latter tried to damage the cotton crop by ploughing it with a tractor.

While the officials claimed that the land belonged to forest department and they wanted it for plantation drive, the farmers contended that they have been in possession of it for the last 25 years.

Tempers flared up when the officials tried to plough again. In the melee, seven women sustained injuries while three of them fell unconscious.

Speaking to The Hans India, the CPI (M) Kothagudem town secretary, who was present at the incident, said: “It was totally uncalled-for on part of forest officials as the tribals here eking out a livelihood through Podu for over two decades.”

CPI-ML New Democracy district secretary Potu Ranga Rao questioned the rationale behind targeting the Podu cultivators though they gave away some part of their land to forest officials to conduct plantation drive.

The officials, who damaged the crops in Yellandu and Tekulapalli mandals, didn’t even spare the women while attacking and foisting false cases against the Podu farmers, he alleged.

Against this backdrop, the police on Wednesday reportedly took Polaram village (Yellandu mandal) sarpanch Vankudoth Saroja into custody.

It’s learnt that police arrested Saroja when she was on her way to Khammam for treatment to her injuries, reportedly sustained in the forest officials’ attack on Tuesday.