To mount pressure on the TRS dispensation in the State to deliver on its reported pre-election promise of resolving podu farmers’ issues, the All India Kisan Mazdoor Sabha (AIKMS) and the CPI (ML-New Democracy) organised a protest march and a dharna in the town on Tuesday. Scores of podu farmers from the fringe areas of the forests in various mandals of the old undivided Khammam district took out a massive rally as part of the “podu poru yatra” to press for their charter of demands. Their main demands include grant of pattas to all podu farmers as per the provisions of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006, extension of the Rythu Bandhu investment support scheme to podu farmers, withdrawal of cases allegedly registered against podu cultivators in various parts of the district and repeal of the Centre’s three farm laws. Addressing the demonstrators at the Dharna Chowk here, the CPI (ML-New Democracy) State assistant secretary Potu Ranga Rao has charged the TRS government with adopting vindictive attitude towards podu farmers and trying to snatch away the hard-won rights of tribals and the traditional forest dwellers. He came down heavily on the TRS regime for allegedly failing to fulfil its 2018 “election promise” to expeditiously resolve the podu farmers’ issues.

Source: The Hindu August 10, 2021 15:44 UTC