Hyderabad: Five tribal women were detained on Friday following a conflict between tribal members and forest authorities that erupted at Koipochigudem in the Dhandapelli Mandal of the Mancherial district on Thursday.
The conflict erupted when tribal members fought against the demolition of their huts on forest territory resulting in the injuries of three authorities.
According to the media report, the tribal members tossed chilly powder in the eyes of the police officials. The five women who had been detained were brought to the Dhandapelli tehsildar’s office. They were later released when an accusation was made against them.
Adivasis blocked the road in front of the forest range office in protest over the women’s imprisonment. They claimed that the state government provided them with several guarantees about the issuance of pattas for the areas they had been farming on.
“However, they’ve now told us that we can’t even cultivate here,” One of the demonstrators stated, “They are tearing down our huts.
In the meantime, leaders of the Adivasi organisations have called for a strike on July 11 in the Adilabad district in protest of the alleged abuse of the officials of the police and forest agencies. The tribe members said that the authorities mistreated the women who resisted tearing down the huts.
Leaders of the CPM spoke out in favour of the tribal people and demanded that officials who misbehaved and mistreated indigenous women be punished. The property on which the huts had been constructed, according to Jannaram Forest Divisional Officer S. Madhav Rao, was not covered by the Forest Rights Act.
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