Kamareddy farmers protest turns violent

HYDERABAD: At a time when the Chandrasekhar Rao-led BRS government is getting ready for the elections with the newly coined campaign slogan 'Ab ki baar kisan sarkar,' hundreds of farmers from various villages in Kamareddy banded together to oppose the proposed industrial zone after a farmer committed suicide.

For the second day in a row, farmers from Adloor, Yellareddy, Ilchipur, and other villages staged dharnas at the Kamareddy railway station crossroad and marched to the Kamareddy district collectorate, demanding that the government withdraw the master plan, which would convert hundreds of acres of farmland into an industrial zone.

The protest followed the death of Payyavula Ramulu, who died by suicide fearing that his land would be taken over by the government for the proposed industrial zone.

The situation spiralled out of control at one point when enraged farmers attempted to breach police barricades and storm the collectorate. When police officials prevented the angry farmers from entering the collectorate building, there was a commotion, with farmers clashing with the cops, resulting in minor injuries to both farmers and police officers.

Protesting outside the collectorate office, the enraged farmers asked that Kamareddy collector Jitesh V.Patil immediately give a word of assurance that the masterplan would be withdrawn, but the collector refused to leave the building for fear of a massive backlash from the farmers.

Farmers attempted to attack Adloor Yellareddy village sarpanch Janardhan Reddy, who stepped forward to participate in the agitation, but the farmers demanded that he resign from his post first.

Meanwhile, the upa sarpanch, ward members, and chairman and directors of the primary agriculture cooperative society resigned in solidarity with the agitating farmers, who have also mustered growing support from state BJP president Bandi Sanjay Kumar, Dubbak MLA Raghunandan Rao, former MLA E. Ravinder Reddy and former zilla parishad chairman K.P.Venkaramana Reddy.

Police blocked Nizamabad MP Dharmapuri Arvind from visiting the home of Ramulu, the farmer who committed suicide.

While expressing the party's solidarity with the agitating farmers, Sanjay questioned how the Telangana government could forcibly take over farmers' fertile lands without their consent, while demanding that Kamareddy district officials hold discussions with the farmers and withdraw the proposed industrial zone.

On the other hand, minister K.T. Rama Rao said that the plan was still in the draft stage and that the government would make changes to the plan and that any concerns raised by farmers would be considered if they approached the government.