A 4.7 acre sugarcane farm, belonging to one Gadde China Chandrasekhara Rao, was allegedly set on fire by some miscreants in the early hours of Friday at Velagapudi. Incidentally, in a series of incidents in the last week of December, 2014, farm implements in the river front villages were burnt creating a sense of panic and insecurity among farmers.
Mr. Rao is among those who had defied the government and did not part with land under the Land Pooling Scheme (LPS).
He owns 30 acres of land in Kuragallu, Velagapudi.
“I went to my farm even on Thursday evening to oversee harvesting. The sugarcane has become ripe for harvesting and my son-in-law was in the field. On Friday morning, I received a call from my son-in-law informing about the incident. I went and saw that the whole farm was gutted,” Mr. Chandrasekhar told The Hindu on Friday.
Even though he did not name any one particular individual, Mr. Chandrasekhar said he was suspicious that it could be an act to threaten him and force him to be part of the LPS. “I was personally against LPS because it has no legal sanctity. The CRDA has not specified where the farmers would be given developed plots. The farmers are also asked to pay for development charges before they are given the reconstituted plots. I have no trust on this government and hence, I chose not to become involved in LPS,” Mr. Chandrasekhar said.
Police said they had registered a case and were investigating.
