Forest officials destroyed cotton crops at podu lands in Kothagudem

Forest department officials allegedly destroyed cotton crops in podu lands at Ravikampadu in Chandrugonda mandal on Tuesday night.

According to reports, around 150 forest personnel entered the fields and cut down the cotton crop using knives and axes. Podu farmers Guguloth Lali and



Tejawath Saroja said they found the crop uprooted and slashed when they went to their fields on Wednesday morning.

The farmers said they had been cultivating the podu lands for the past 20 years and alleged that the officials caused grave injustice by destroying a crop that was ready for harvest.