In Somavaram village of Chatrai Mandal of Krishna District, the rich and landlords have occupied forest lands, taking advantage of inaccurate forest records. When poor cultivate the forest lands, the forest department tries to evict them but when the rich occupy the forest lands, the department is silent. Under the leadership of the AIARLA, the agricultural workers of Somavaram village organised a dharna in front of the Revenue Divisional Officer’s office in Nuzuvidu of Krishna district on 9 October. Com. Durgam Pullaravu, District Secretary of AIARLA addressed the dharna. Com. Pullaravu said that in Survey Numbers 409, 550, 354, 355, 553 the total land was 1256.81 acres and this land was registered as forest in the old settlement records which was prepared by the colonial government. However, the forest department records tell another story. They claim that the forest land is only 457.25 acres –what happened to the remaining 799.56 acres? The forest Department and Revenue Department both are colluding to protect the interests of the rich. For a long time now, AIARLA had been demanding a joint survey by both departments to get the facts cleared. Com Parakala Kalavathi demand that the government must evict the rich people from these lands and distribute the same to the poor in Somavaram village. After the dharna, a memorandum was submitted to the RDO.
