Telangana police on Tuesday moved to break up the indefinite hunger strike of Telangana Jagruthi president K Kavitha in Khammam, forcibly shifting her to Hyderabad as tensions over a local land dispute boiled over. Kavitha had launched her protest on Monday to demand "justice" for hundreds of families recently evicted from a parcel of Bhoodan land in Velugumatla, an area that has become a flashpoint for a heated political and humanitarian standoff.
The trouble began with a dharna in the heart of Khammam, where Kavitha and supporters of the displaced families staged a sit-in. The protest, held roughly 200 kilometres from the state capital, caused significant gridlock, prompting police to detain the Jagruthi leader and briefly hold her at a local station. Although she was released with a warning for protesting without prior permission, she immediately made her way to Ambedkar Bhavan on Monday night to begin a formal fast.
Kavitha is demanding that the district collector provide a written assurance that the oustees — many of whom have lived on the donated 'Bhoodan' land for over a decade — be granted official 'pattas' (land titles) at the same location. She has been vocal in her criticism of the state government’s "bulldozer governance," alleging that 700 people were rendered homeless overnight and moved to makeshift rehabilitation centres that she described as "inhumane."
With her protest in Khammam now curtailed by the police, Jagruthi officials confirmed that Kavitha intends to continue her fast from the organisation's headquarters in Hyderabad. The row has already seen 43 people, including Kavitha herself, booked by the police for allegedly provoking the displaced families and obstructing officers on duty. As she arrives back in Hyderabad today, the focus shifts to whether the administration will offer any concessions to the families currently sheltering in local function halls and school buildings.
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