Telangana farmers fall at official's feet over land issue

Two Telangana farmers are seen falling at the feet of an official, pleading him to do justice in a matter relating to their land, in a video which went viral on social media on Monday.

The elderly farmers are seen begging a revenue officer at Chevella in Ranga Reddy district to help them get back their 'pattadar' or land entitlement passbook which was taken away by authorities during a physical verification recently.

Unmoved by the farmers' plight, the officer is seen walking away.

Ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) Working President K. T. Rama Rao reacted to the video and requested the Ranga Reddy District Collector to immediately investigate the matter.

"Individual rights & entitlements should not be at the mercy of any Govt official/public representative," tweeted Rama Rao, who is son of Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao.

"As a permanent solution to land title related issues, Telangana Govt is set to bring in a new Revenue Act soon," he added.

The famers in the video were identified as Sattaiah and his brother Lingaiah. They alleged that their two acre ancestral land was transferred in the name of another person after their 'pattadar' passbook was taken away.

They claimed that while the Collector and Mandal Revenue Officer (MRO) assured them that their land will be restored, the local officials were not only refusing to do the work but threatened them.

"They are threatening to send us to jail," said Lingaiah. IANS