Tension prevailed for some time at Bailampur village in Mulugu mandal on Monday when the police arrested Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) chairman Prof. M. Kodandaram and advocate B. Rachana Reddy. Villagers who gathered in large numbers tried to prevent the arrest by squatting in front of the police vehicles. They were shifted to Begumpet and Gouraram police stations respectively.
The police arrested them after they interacted with the villagers.
Bailampur is one of the villages which would get submerged under the proposed Kondapochamma reservoir.
According to sources, Prof. Kodandaram along with Ms Rachana Reddy arrived at Bailampur village at 8.40 a.m. and were shown the area that would be submerged under the project. Later, both of them interacted with the villagers.
“Out of ignorance, we signed the papers and sold our lands to the government. We were not given proper compensation. Please save us from being exploited by the government,” urged Neerudi Pochaiah, a farmer of the village. He said that he has no plans to sell his remaining three acres of land, come what may. “These are multi-crop cultivating lands and the government has to offer you land for land. It seems that many of you signed papers without reading them completely. No resolution was passed by the panchayat in this regard. We will be with you till justice is meted out to you,” said Prof. Kodandaram while addressing the villagers at the panchayat office. Ms. Reddy said that farmers who were not willing to sell their land under the LA Act -2016 could demand implementation of LA Act -2013 for better compensation. Soon after addressing the villagers, Ms. Reddy left for Hyderabad and Prof. Kodandaram stayed back to have tea at the house of one B. Krishna Reddy. He was arrested there while Ms. Reddy was arrested at Shameerpet and brought back to Gouraram police station. Both of them were released in the afternoon. Speaking to reporters, Prof. Kodandaram alleged that government was forcibly acquiring land from farmers by threatening them.
