Telangana forest officials stop villagers from clearing podu land

ADILABAD: Villagers from Thungeda in Rebenna mandal of Kumuram Bheem Asifabad district, while clearing 45 acres of podu land, engaged in a heated argument with Forest department officials after they tried stopping them.

The villagers alleged that despite having been cultivating the land for years and possessing land ownership documents, the forest officials were hindering their work.

Meanwhile in Areguda, villagers staged a protest in front of the Kagaznagar Tahsildar office, claiming that they had been cultivating podu lands for years, but were now facing obstruction from forest officials.

A farmer, Ch. Sattiah, said that his land was situated far from the forest boundary, yet the officials obstructed their cultivation efforts.

Sattiah further mentioned that more than 600 members possessed land ownership documents and had been cultivating the land for decades.

Officials from the Kagaznagar Mandal Revenue department said that the disputed area spans approximately 3,000 acres.

After the elections, joint inspections involving forest and revenue officials will be conducted, and subsequent measures will be taken based on the inspection survey reports, they added.

They also noted that officials are currently preoccupied with election duties, but assured that measures will be taken promptly after the elections.