�Warangal: In a dramatic turn of events, villagers detained forest officials at the local gram panchayat office in Manala village, Rudrangi mandal, on Saturday, protesting the felling of thousands of trees and alleging the connivance of forest staff in the incident.
The controversy began on Friday night when unidentified persons tried to encroach on forest land and cut down thousands of eucalyptus trees. When forest officials reached the spot for an inquiry, villagers confronted them, accusing them of being complicit in the deforestation. They alleged the trees were felled with the knowledge or encouragement of the department.
Protesters demanded the immediate arrest of those responsible and called for urgent measures to protect forest land from further encroachment. They insisted the divisional forest officer (DFO) visit the village to address their concerns. Villagers briefly confined forest officials and police inside the gram panchayat building, raising slogans and staging a protest.
They further claimed that vast tracts of forest land in the area had already been encroached upon due to the negligence of authorities. A letter was also submitted to the district collector, urging strict action against encroachers. The villagers stressed that while Manala was recently divided into nine gram panchayats, revenue and forest boundaries remain unclear. Once boundaries are demarcated, they said, forest land could be safeguarded through the village development committee.
Circle inspector G. Venkateshwarlu told Deccan Chronicle that police rushed to the spot upon learning officials were detained. He inspected the area where trees were cut and reported that some tribals, under the guise of podu cultivation, had dug large wells and laid pipelines. He instructed the forest department to immediately begin an afforestation drive and assured villagers that police would play a key role in protecting the forest, which convinced them to release the officials.
The situation is now under control, he added, and police will continue to extend cooperation. Repeated attempts to reach forest officials for their comments were unsuccessful, as many did not respond to calls or had switched off their phones.
