Podapadar and its adjoining villages under Narayapatna block in Orissa’s Koraput district are on the boil again. Over 500 tribals belonging to the “Maoist-backed” Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangh (CAMS), who on Friday had seized around 500 acres of cultivable land owned by non-tribals, on Sunday undertook cultivation activities on those fields.
The tribals, without their traditional buffalo-driven ploughs, entered the fields and planted paddy saplings. However, there was no reaction either from the non-tribals or from the district administration.
“The administration cannot take any action unless the aggrieved land owners lodge written complaints with the police,” a senior district official, who did not want to be quoted, said. Sources said the non-tribals did not lodge any complaints with the police as they fear it would incur the wrath of the Maoists.
In July 2009, the CMAS had forcibly taken over 2000 acres of land, owned by non-tribals, forcing 400 Dalit families to flee. However, they could not cultivate the lands as the police arrested at least 150 of its members. The situation further aggravated when two of the CMAS leaders were killed in police firing. Now, after a year’s lull, Nachika Linga, the leader of the CAMS and its members, have resurfaced in the tribal landscape of Narayanpatna.