The All India Agricultural and Rural Labour Association (AIARLA) and CPI(ML) Liberation organized a protest march and demonstration in Kashipur block of Rayagada district on June 22, demanding land rights, employment, welfare measures and basic services for agricultural labourers, tribal communities and rural poor.
The procession began from the Shiva Radha Temple and marched through Kashipur before converging at the offices of the Forest Department and the Block Development Officer. Following a protest demonstration, an 11-point memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister was submitted through local officials.
The organizations demanded immediate distribution of forest land and homestead pattas to poor and landless families in Laxminagar and other villages, speedy settlement of pending land claims, and effective implementation of the MGNREGA Act. Among the major demands were an increase in MGNREGA wages to ₹700 per day, 300 units of free electricity for all households, ₹5 lakh housing assistance along with homestead land for eligible beneficiaries, and 50 kg of rice for ration card holders and agricultural labourers.
The memorandum also called for recognition of education and healthcare as fundamental rights, a monthly pension of ₹5,000 for senior citizens and persons with disabilities, and withdrawal of measures leading to dispossession of poor and tribal families from their lands. The organizations further raised issues related to forest rights, rural infrastructure, drinking water facilities and access to government welfare schemes.
Addressing the gathering, AIARLA State Secretary Tripati Gamango and other leaders, including Ram Chandra Praska and Kailash Sabar, criticized the anti-people policies of both the State and Central Governments and accused them of neglecting the concerns of agricultural labourers, tribal communities and the rural poor.
A large number of local activists, village representatives and organization leaders participated in the programme. The organizations pledged to intensify their struggle if the government fails to take concrete steps to address the demands raised in the memorandum.
