Kothagudem: Tension at Aswaraopet as villagers stage protest at Forest office

The villagers accused Forest personnel of illegally seizing and destroying a wooden log that they had taken from the local forest for erecting 'dwajasthambam' at front pavilion of Ganganamma Temple at Aswaraopet

Kothagudem: Mild tension prevailed at Aswaraopet mandal headquarters in the district on Friday as residents of Gummadavalli village in the mandal ransacked the local forest office.

The villagers accused the Forest personnel of illegally seizing and destroying a wooden log that they had taken from the local forest for erecting the ‘dwajasthambam’ at the front pavilion of Ganganamma Temple at the village. They held the local forest ranger responsible for the act.

---

A large group of villagers, both men and women, along with members of Hindu outfits took out a protest rally from Potti Sriramulu statue to the forest office and staged a dharna. After a while they barged into the office, breaking the door open and damaging furniture.

A resident Satyanarayana complained that the ranger instead of shifting the log to the forest timber depot, cut it into pieces hurting the religious sentiments of the villagers. He said the local MLA M Nageshwar Rao and the ranger were intimated about the procurement of the Narepa (Anjan tree or Indian blackwood) log.

He told the media that the ranger who initially had given consent for obtaining the log later acted strangely by seizing and destroying it. On learning about the protest, police rushed to the spot and dispersed the villagers, who demanded action against the ranger.