In continuation of their protest against the alleged move to acquire their agricultural lands for the proposed Khammam-Devarapalli greenfield national highway project, aggrieved farmers from Chintakani and various other mandals in the district have decided to hold a dharna here on Wednesday.
Scores of farmers of several villages, including Raghavapuram, Ramakistapuram and Basavapuram in Chintakani mandal and eight other mandals in the district, have been opposing the project tooth and nail citing “impending loss of their livelihoods.”
Aggrieved farmers from as many as nine mandals in the district had staged a massive demonstration here in November last year against the proposed project.
Relaunch agitation
They threatened to relaunch the agitation if any attempt was made to “forcibly” acquire their farm lands for the project. They insisted that the existing stretch of the Khammam-Devarapalli State highway be developed to avoid loss of large tracts of agricultural lands. The Joint Action Committee of aggrieved farmers has called for a dharna here on Wednesday in protest against what it called renewed attempts by the departments concerned to acquire the agricultural lands of hundreds of farmers in nine mandals in the district without the latter’s consent for the greenfield project.
