Mahabubabad: Will the podu farmers get their fair share?

Mahabubabad: A day after furor over podu land that became bone of contention between the dalits and the forest officials, Mahabubabad MLA Banoth Shankar Naik makes his entry to woo the residents of Bollepally village under Gudur mandal on Tuesday. It may be mentioned here that forest officials on Monday planted saplings in a piece of land near Bollepally, despite objections raised by the villagers. The villagers argue that the said land belonged to them, as they have been in possession of it for about two decades.

Although the villagers staged a protest holding the feet of forest officials, the latter ignored their appeal stating that the land belongs to their department. The villagers showed pahanis up to 2018 issued by the revenue officials but in vain. It may be noted here that the State Government was disbursing financial assistance under the Rythu Bandhu scheme to some of the farmers.

Against this backdrop, Shankar Naik met the farmers and consoled them, promising justice to them. The MLA even spoke to forest officials and told them not to snatch away the lands from the dalits and Adivais who have been dependent on podu cultivation since generations. Later, the MLA, who squatted among the dalits shared his lunchbox with them and also hand fed them.

The dalit farmer Mandula Saraiah though expressed doubts over the commitment of the government in protecting their rights, as he feels the government only works for the vote.