Farmers continue hunger strike, demand title deeds

Kandukur: The five farmers sit on the hunger strike for the last three days on behalf of hundreds of farmers in Venkatadripalem of Kandukur municipality announced that they would intensify agitation if the government does not respond to their demands. 

They are demanding that the government issue title deeds and pattadar passbooks to the cultivatable land, which is in the possession of their families for more than 100 years.

According to Jillellamudi Venkateswarlu, one of the farmer sit in the hunger strike, there is 990 acres of land in the survey number 116 in the Venkatadripalem village. 

The land is eenam land belongs to belongs to Appalacharyulu and Srinivasacharyulu as per the revenue records in 1902. In those 990 acres, 759 acres is cultivatable land, 156 acres is residential land and the remaining is barren land. 

Venkateswarlu claims that the cultivatable 759 acres of land was in possession of the farmers since then but the village elders tried to get their hands on the land after abolition of eenam lands by an act in 1966 and got a raiwari patta in 1968. 

Learning the injustice by the village elders, the farmers complained to the Kandukur RDO to cancel the documents. Later the farmers received permission through the minister Nallamothu Chenchuramaiah in 1982 to install electricity motors at the 82 wells in the land for agricultural use.

Venkateswarlu said that the government ordered the survey and land records department in 1988 to survey the land and do sub divisions by identifying the persons possessing the cultivatable land. 

But in 1992, the local MRO, alleged to be under the influence of local politicians, submitted to the government that the farmers failed to prove any documentary proof. However in 1997, the farmers are able to get the copy of the survey and land records department which has their names as the possessors of the land for decades. 

Since then, the farmers are requesting the government to issue pattadar passbooks and title deeds as the government records also prove their possession.

As there is no response from the officials due to the pressure from politicians, the farmers knocked the door of High Court of AP & Telangana with the report of the survey and land records department along with the receipts of land cess, taxes and electricity service certificates for decades. 

But the officials didn’t filed any counter in the case and is not taking any action on their pending requests.

Venkateswarlu said that after trying all means to get justice from the government, they resorted to the hunger strike unto death. He said that they are demanding the government to provide title deeds for the cultivatable land and the residential land, so that they could get bank loans to construct neat residential colony. 

They are demanding the government to include their names in the adangals as the possessors in the place of names from 125 years ago. The farmers, who claim to be TDP workers and sympathisers claim that the chief minister Chandrababu Naidu should do justice to their party men. They said, if we do not get justice in our government at least, where should we go?