Telangana Dalit protests month-long at Collector’s office against land encroachment
The Dalit family’s appeals to the police, mandal revenue officer, and the Collector, seeking their intervention to retrieve the land saw no results, following which they set up a temporary shed to protest at the Collector’s office.
Written by Balakrishna Ganeshan , Edited by Maria Teresa Raju
Since March 27, a Dalit family in Telangana’s Nirmal district has been protesting in the premises of the District Collector’s office, demanding action against the alleged encroachment of their farmland by privileged caste persons. Fifty-two-year-old farmer Kobbanola Ganganna and family, who hail from Kankapur village in Lokeswaram mandal, alleged that five-acres of agricultural land owned by Ganganna has been encroached by the village development committee (VDC) led by upper castes, who also allegedly threatened to kill him. A VDC is an informal body comprising members from all communities but mostly led by privileged castes. This body works like a khap panchayat, imposing fines and social boycotts against those who defy them.
The Dalit family’s earlier appeals to the police, mandal revenue officer, and the Collector, seeking their intervention to retrieve the land saw no results, following which they intensified the protest by setting up a temporary shed to protest at the Collector Varun Reddy’s office. “We will not leave the premises until we get justice,” Ganganna’s son Kobbanola Naveen (26) told TNM.
Ganganna, who belongs to the Mala (Scheduled Caste) community said that the five-acre land on survey number 328 belongs to him, and that his family has been cultivating it for three generations. The land is situated on the periphery of Kankapur adjoining the neighbouring Abdullapur village. On December 21, Ganganna said, 17 members of the VDC — Gangataru Raju Reddy, Gurjala Rajanna, Golla Mahesh, Jogolla Bhojana, Sayanna, Gangataru Chinna Reddy, Gangatar Ganganna, Dadige Bhoja Reddy, Ekgaon Ramesh, Omani Jaganna, Tummola Gangareddy, and others – allegedly trespassed into his land, demolished a borewell, and seized the water motor pump, claiming that the land belongs to Abdullapur village. Gangataru Raju is the VDC chairman of Abdullapur.
Recalling the incident, Naveen said, “They abused us using caste slurs and threatened to kill us if we stepped on the land. The VDC chairman, a Reddy by caste, even conspired to attack us through other Dalits.”
Following the alleged encroachment, the agricultural land was converted into a cricket ground and a building was constructed on it.
The issue started in June last year, according to Naveen. “The VDC members of Abdullapur approached us asking for a path through our field [to an adjacent nursery they have set up]. We declined initially, but later, following the advice of caste elders from our village, agreed to give land for the path. The VDC later asked for more land. That is when my father snubbed their request. They then started claiming that the land is within their village’s boundary,” Naveen said. He added, “They claimed ownership of the land and tried to evict us by destroying our crops by letting cattle into the field and damaging the water channel.”
Ganganna’s family approached the Lokeswaram police and filed a complaint in June. However, a first information report was not registered, Naveen said. The family then sought the District Collector’s intervention. The Collector, despite promising to resolve the dispute by meeting both parties, never came, according to Naveen.
On November 10, Ganganna approached the mandal surveyor and revenue officer, asking them to demarcate the land. However, the survey, while establishing that land on survey number 328 belonged to Ganganna, said that it is not the same as the land he is cultivating on now. The survey essentially stated that the land his family has been cultivating for three years does not belong to him. It did not verify where land under survey number 328 fell either. “We have been cultivating the land since 1991. It has been 32 years now. How can they say that the land does not belong to us?” Naveen questioned.
Alleging that the demarcation is faulty, Ganganna approached the Telangana High Court asking the authorities to demarcate the land and fix the boundary. However, the authorities are yet to follow the court order.
Speaking to TNM, Lokeswaram mandal revenue officer Saritha said, “I surveyed the land as per the land passbook, but that location does not come under my jurisdiction. It comes under Mudhole mandal. They should approach the Mudhole revenue officer. This is what I informed the court as well.”
Urging the Collector to intervene in the dispute, Ganganna, his wife Hamsavva, and Naveen, have been protesting at the Collector’s office since March 27. Naveen said, “Initially, we held a relay hunger strike, but since there has been no response from the Collector, we intensified the protest by camping at his office itself. The land is our sole source of income. We cannot let go of it.”
Courtesy : TNM
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