Protest in Telangana against aforestation drive; 70 villagers object to planting of saplings by forest department

Hyderabad: A group of villagers from Bhadradri Kothagudem district of Telangana Saturday tried to prevent forest personnel from taking up a plantation drive on forest land which they allegedly had been attempting to encroach upon, forest officials said.  Around 70 villagers, including women, objected to and obstructed the forest personnel at Vampugudem village during the planting of saplings taken up as part of an ongoing afforestation programme, the officials said. Last Sunday, a woman forest official was injured after she was attacked allegedly by some people led by the brother of a ruling TRS MLA in Telangana. ANI Some members of the group laid down in front of tractors that were used to dig the land up for planting saplings even as others argued with the forest personnel, a senior forest official told PTI. Seeing this, the police along with the forest personnel dispersed the protestors and took 25 of them into preventive custody, the official said. Since 2014, some villagers have been attempting to encroach upon the forest land by taking up cultivation, but the forest department had thwarted their bid, he said adding last year also some of the villagers had damaged the plantation drive taken up by the forest department. Last Sunday, a woman forest official was injured after she was attacked allegedly by some people led by the brother of a ruling TRS MLA in Telangana KB-Asifabad district. Anitha, along with her staff and a police posse, had gone to the village for planting saplings on land under a compensatory afforestation scheme for Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project, forest department officials said. Video footage of the attack showed Anitha climbing onto a tractor to escape from the attack by bamboo stick-wielding people.