To mount pressure on the TRS dispensation in the State to deliver on its reported pre-election promise of resolving podu farmers’ issues, the All India Kisan Mazdoor Sabha (AIKMS) and the CPI (ML-New Democracy) organised a protest march and a dharna in the town on Tuesday.
Scores of podu farmers from the fringe areas of the forests in various mandals of the old undivided Khammam district took out a massive rally as part of the “podu poru yatra” to press for their charter of demands.
Their main demands include grant of pattas to all podu farmers as per the provisions of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006, extension of the Rythu Bandhu investment support scheme to podu farmers, withdrawal of cases allegedly registered against podu cultivators in various parts of the district and repeal of the Centre’s three farm laws.
The family members including children of some of the women farmers of Yellanna Nagar, who were “arrested” and “jailed” on charges of assaulting forest staff in Konijerla mandal four days ago, also participated in the demonstration, CPI (ML-ND) sources said.
Addressing the demonstrators at the Dharna Chowk here, the CPI (ML-New Democracy) State assistant secretary Potu Ranga Rao has charged the TRS government with adopting vindictive attitude towards podu farmers and trying to snatch away the hard-won rights of tribals and the traditional forest dwellers.
Only 45% of the total 2.12 lakh applications received for grant of pattas for 7.61 lakh acres in the State under the FRA were approved till July, 2016, he charged, alleging that pattas were sanctioned for only 1.78 lakh acres as against the total number of 80,000 applications submitted by tribals and other traditional forest dwellers for four lakh acres under the FRA in the erstwhile composite Khammam district.
He came down heavily on the TRS regime for allegedly failing to fulfil its 2018 “election promise” to expeditiously resolve the podu farmers’ issues.
Instead of fulfilling its pre-poll promise, the TRS dispensation is unleashing “repressive” measures against podu farmers to drive them out of their traditional lands, their sole source of livelihood, in the name of Haritha Haram, he charged, demanding that the forest staff refrain from digging trenches on “podu lands.”
CPI (ML-ND) senior leader and former Yellandu MLA Gummadi Narsaiah, AIKMS State general secretary Kechela Rangaiah and others spoke.
