Gangaputra community protests with petrol bottles at Prajavani in Jagtial

Gangaputra community members staged a protest at Prajavani in Jagtial, alleging Mudiraj dominance in fisheries and inflated tank survey records. Police stopped them with petrol bottles; later, representatives submitted a memorandum

Jagtial: Tense moments prevailed during the Prajavani programme on Monday when members of the Gangaputra community (fishermen) from Kondrikarla and Konaraopet of Metpalli mandal arrived carrying petrol bottles, demanding that the district administration resolve their grievances.

Alert police personnel prevented them from entering the Integrated District Offices Complex (IDOC), where the programme was being held, and seized the bottles. Upset over the move, the community members staged a sit-in protest inside the office premises.

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Speaking at the protest, they alleged that though the Gangaputras had been dependent on fishing in local tanks for many years, members of the Mudiraj community were attempting to assert control. They said those persons had conducted a tank survey in 2023 without informing their society and inflated the water body’s area to 92 acres, against its original spread of 44 acres.

They further alleged that memberships in their fisheries society were extended to members of the Mudiraj community under political pressure, sidelining the Gangaputras. With local officials failing to intervene, they said they had no option but to approach the Collector during Prajavani.

Later, five representatives were permitted inside the IDOC to submit their memorandum to the Collector.