Nizamabad: Uday Bhaskar Rao, secretary of the District Legal Services Authority and senior civil judge, visited Motiram Naik Thanda on Thursday to investigate the suicide attempt by tribal farmer Ramavath Prakash Naik. Allegations have surfaced that forest officials set fire to Naik’s maize crop after accusing him of encroaching on forest land. Accompanied by advocates Asha Narayana, Balraj Naik, and Raviprasad, the judge inspected the charred crop and spoke with local residents about the incident. He also inquired into the extent of forest land versus revenue land and whether any agricultural fields had been submerged by the expansion of the Manchippa minor irrigation project.Locals told the judge that Prakash Naik had cultivated the land for many years and that harassment by forest officials was threatening the tribal community’s livelihoods. Forest department representatives, however, maintained that Naik was illegally farming on protected land and confirmed that measures had been initiated to halt further encroachment.
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