Dalits seek restoration of assigned land

Dalits from K. Santapalem revenue village from K. Kotapadu met District Collector Pravin Kumar here on Monday and submitted a memorandum demanding that the land that was assigned to them in 1978 be restored.

According to the dalits, as many as 18 acres was assigned to 11 beneficiaries by the government in 1978 and 22 families eke their living by cultivating cashew and mangoes on the stretch.

In 1979, the SC Corporation also funded an agricultural borewell to facilitate teh cultivation and the dalits also availed of the loan from Loan Mortgage Bank.

Later, some of the beneficiaries had signed on blank paper and taken loans from some BC farmers from K. Santapalem and KK Agraharam owing to some financial crisis, said CPI(M) district Secretary K. Lokanathan who accompanied the aggrieved Dalits to the Collector.

Now, the BC farmers allegedly have taken control over the land and are reluctant to give it back, despite the dalits agreeing to repay the loan amount, he alleged.

“Earlier, we had approached Anakapalle RDO who after giving assurance to look into the issue, turned a deaf ear,” alleged Subbanna, an aggrieved Dalit, adding that they had staged a protest in front of the RDO office but were arrested.

The dalits, in the memorandum, demanded restoration of the land, possession of the produce.