BERHAMPUR: The tribal residents of Lauguda village under Ramanaguda block of Rayagada district are a disgruntled lot after some people of Andhra Pradesh assaulted them when they resisted the neighbouring state’s encroachment bid. They have lodged a complaint at Ramanaguda police station and also threatened to stage a stir if no action is taken against the encroachers.
Sources said around six months back, some people of Kedarpur in Andhra Pradesh forcibly entered these tribal areas and began ploughing the agriculture land for cultivation. The villagers here apprised the matter to the local revenue officials but no action was taken. The AP encroachers allegedly began cultivating vegetables there. With no option left, the tribals waited for the harvesting season in the hope that they would get their land back after that.
However, the encroachers returned again on Wednesday to plough the lands for the next round of cultivation. When resisted, they allegedly beat the villagers up. Peeved, the tribals led by leader of Adivasi Sangharsh Morcha Tirupati Gamang reached the Ramanaguda police station and lodged a complaint.
Tirupati alleged that despite repeated complaints, the Odisha revenue officials turned a blind eye to their problems which encouraged the Andhra encroachers to frequently intrude their areas. “If the administration fails to address our problems and check such intrusion, the tribals would stage dharna in front of the tehsil office soon,” he threatened.