KHAMMAM: Posters allegedly put up by Maoist party members have surfaced in Bhadrachalam and Manuguru agency areas, creating panic among the locals.
The Maoists have called upon Podu land cultivators, those who practise a form of shifting cultivation, to get ready for a militant struggle against the State and Union governments for ‘trying to displace them from their lands’.
Maoist party members, who had gone underground lately, resurfaced and resumed activity a few months ago.
For the past few days, due to combing operations in Telangana and Chhattisgarh States, they have been laying low once again.
For long, the tribal communities have claimed that their rights have been ignored, and they are being forced to abandon a way of life that they have subscribed to for centuries.
They say the government has forced them to evacuate Podu lands. In their recent posters, Maoists have issued warnings that they would not stay put, and wage war on the State on behalf of the tribals. Taking the Maoist party call seriously, the police department has deployed large numbers of CRPF, Greyhounds and special police personnel in agency areas of Bhadrachalam and Manuguru divisions.
Bhadradri Kothagudem SP Sunil Dutt, announced that anyone who offers information on Maoists would get a reward of Rs 5 lakh. Sunil Dutt has claimed around 40 Maoist party members have been making the rounds of surrounding villages and ‘misguiding Podu farmers’.