Mancherial: Tribals launch padayatra seeking rights over forest lands

Mancherial: Aboriginal tribals, who were protesting seeking rights over forest lands, took out a rally from Koya Pochamguda village in Dandepalli mandal to Utnoor mandal centre on Sunday. The event was being organised under the aegis of a joint committee of tribal rights organisations.

The tribals left for Utnoor from Koyaposhamguda in the morning. They halted on the way and dined under the trees. They raised slogans demanding justice for them. They were playing drums and trumpets. They alleged that the foresters were harassing them by booking false cases and arresting them. They claimed that they were tilling the lands since 2002 and were eligible to get Pattas under RoFR Act, 2005.

Kova Daulath Mokasi Rao, Adivasi Sena state president demanded that the foresters be booked under SC, STs Prevention of Atrocities Act for assaulting the tribals. He wanted the government to take steps to address the long pending Podu cultivation issue. He said that the foresters who promised to give 150 acres of land to tribals families of the village were now backtracking.