Adivasis to stage Thudumdebba today for podu land rights

Adivasi leaders say that political leaders were keeping mum all these years and did not come to their rescue when officials harassed them and arrested them when they attempted to cultivate podu lands DC file photoADILABAD Adivasis in the district have decided to stage a massive protest Thudumdebba in front of the collectorate on Monday demanding that the state government issue pattas to the podu lands that they have been cultivating for a long time They have been fighting relentlessly to get rights on these lands for long and with the involvement of Opposition parties – the Congress and the BJP they have intensified their protestThe podu land issue has come handy for the BJP and the Congress to criticise the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti TRS and Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao since the latter failed to uphold the promises he had made on various occasions to issue pattas to podu lands in the last seven years in TelanganaAdivasi leaders say that political leaders were keeping mum all these years and did not come to their rescue when officials harassed them and arrested them when they attempted to cultivate podu lands and forest officials planted saplings in podu lands under the Haritha Haram programme at various placesAdivasi leaders say that on some occasions political leaders extended support to them through newspaper statements in the past but that it was just as an eyewash