Hyderabad: Farmers from Dudyala mandal in Vikarabad district, protesting the proposed special economic zone (SEZ) for pharmaceutical companies in their village, attacked district collector Prateek Jain and Kodangal Area Development Authority chairman Venkat Reddy during a public hearing.
The enraged villagers assaulted Reddy with sticks. As part of the bandobast, 120 cops were deployed there. But none of the villagers attended the hearing.
Under the banner “Go back pharma”, the villagers camped at the protest site. “In the name of development, the forceful acquisition of our fields should stop,” the banner read. “Who are you (govt) to dictate on our lands? We will not yield even at the cost of our lives,” it added.
“How can it (public hearing) be held outside the village? Instead, it should be conducted in the village,” a villager protested.
It was then the collector decided to go to the village. Prior to police reaching the spot, the collector, additional collector, sub-collector, Reddy and some other officials set out in three different vehicles. Three deputy superintendents of police followed them in another vehicle.
With great difficulty, the collector managed to get into his car even as the agitators attacked his staff. The unrelenting protesters rained huge boulders/stones at the vehicles, including Prateek’s car. The front and rear windshields of the car were damaged in the stone pelting. While the car was on the move, the collector had to duck to save himself from the stones hurled from all sides. His driver had to speed up to save the collector while the other officials, including Reddy, were still taking the blows.
“Some 120 cops were in the process of reaching the protesting site, which had a narrow approach road. Police had no time to react since the collector and his staff reached the protest site quickly. When the force was still on its way, violence broke out,” a police official said.
The public hearing was to be held to seek the opinion of farmers who would lose their land for the proposed pharma unit, an official said. The farmers have been protesting for several weeks against the proposed company.
The enraged villagers assaulted Reddy with sticks. As part of the bandobast, 120 cops were deployed there. But none of the villagers attended the hearing.
Under the banner “Go back pharma”, the villagers camped at the protest site. “In the name of development, the forceful acquisition of our fields should stop,” the banner read. “Who are you (govt) to dictate on our lands? We will not yield even at the cost of our lives,” it added.
“How can it (public hearing) be held outside the village? Instead, it should be conducted in the village,” a villager protested.
It was then the collector decided to go to the village. Prior to police reaching the spot, the collector, additional collector, sub-collector, Reddy and some other officials set out in three different vehicles. Three deputy superintendents of police followed them in another vehicle.
With great difficulty, the collector managed to get into his car even as the agitators attacked his staff. The unrelenting protesters rained huge boulders/stones at the vehicles, including Prateek’s car. The front and rear windshields of the car were damaged in the stone pelting. While the car was on the move, the collector had to duck to save himself from the stones hurled from all sides. His driver had to speed up to save the collector while the other officials, including Reddy, were still taking the blows.
“Some 120 cops were in the process of reaching the protesting site, which had a narrow approach road. Police had no time to react since the collector and his staff reached the protest site quickly. When the force was still on its way, violence broke out,” a police official said.
The public hearing was to be held to seek the opinion of farmers who would lose their land for the proposed pharma unit, an official said. The farmers have been protesting for several weeks against the proposed company.
