Tension prevailed at Gandlagudem, a tribal village in Aswaraopeta mandal, on Sunday when a group of farmers staged a dharna with pesticide bottles in protest against what they termed as ‘attempts’ by the forest staff to ‘drive’ them away from their ‘podu lands.’
The incident comes a day after some aggrieved tribal farmers staged a protest against alleged attempts by the forest staff to prevent them from tilling lands at Bandarugumpu citing them as forest lands in the same mandal on Saturday.
Bandarugumpu incident sparked tension in the area with local tribals staking claim over the lands and vowing to continue ‘podu’ cultivation on them. However, forest officials dismissed their claims.
