Tension gripped the villages of Dudwala mandal in Telangana’s Vikarabad district on Friday as revenue officials conducted a land survey for the proposed industrial corridor.

Heavy police deployment was in place as tribal farmers, including women, staged protests, raising slogans and displaying placards against the state government’s land acquisition move.

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Last year, Lagacharla village in the same region made headlines when angry villagers attacked and chased away government officials, including the district magistrate, in protest against land acquisition.

Following the backlash, the government withdrew its proposal to acquire 1,358 acres for a pharma cluster in Lagacharla and Polepalli.

However, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy later unveiled a new proposal for an industrial corridor in the area, which falls under his Assembly constituency, Kodangal.

Today’s survey was conducted under tight security, with nearly 200 police personnel ensuring the safety of officials as villagers from Lagacharla, Rotibanda Thanda, and Pulicherla opposed the new industrial park plan.

Many of the protesting farmers belong to tribal and economically weaker communities, with women actively participating in the demonstrations.

The state government, however, claims that a significant number of farmers have already agreed to the acquisition.

The dispute dates back to July last year when the government issued a notification for land acquisition for the pharma cluster. On November 12, tensions escalated as angry villagers attacked District Magistrate Prateek Jain and Kodangal Area Development Authority (KADA) Special Officer with sticks, forcing them to flee.

A government vehicle was also damaged in the confrontation, leading to multiple arrests, including that of former BRS MLA P. Narender Reddy.

The BRS party supported the protesting farmers and took their case to the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, alleging that the Congress-led government was acting against tribal interests.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) also sent a team to investigate complaints from villagers.