Mahabubabad: Dalits kneel down under forest officials for land rights

Mahabubabad: Neither this is the first nor the last of such an incident, however, it was heartrending to see almost all the families belonging to Bollepally village under Gudur mandal parading around forest officials and holding their legs seeking their favour to spare their land on which they toil hard to earn a living.

Around 35 families – more than half of them dalits and the rest belonging to tribal communities – on Monday were at loggerheads with the forest officials when the latter tried to plant saplings on nearly 76 acres, 2 kilometers away from the village.

Showing the pahanis issued by the revenue officials, the villagers pleaded that they have right over the land. However, the forest officials said that the land actually belongs to their department.

After pleading vociferously, the villagers one after the other held the feet of forest officials, but that was a voice crying in the wilderness.

One of the villagers questioned the forest official, "The State Government needs to refrain from chest-thumping for its new proposed scheme – Dalit Bandhu.

Don't we get the same benefits the dalits in Huzurabad Assembly constituency enjoy?"

Another villager said that they have pahanis till 2018 but showing the records the forest department claims rights over it.

"We have been making a living on this land for about two decades," he said. Against this backdrop, the police took the protestors to Gudur where the MRO also denied the villagers' claim stating that land now belongs to forest officials.