Vikarabad District Collector Prateek Jain faced an intense situation during his visit to Lagacherla village in Dudyal mandal. The state government sanctioning a pharmaceutical company at the villages of Dudyal, Lagacherla and Polepalli had sparked strong objection from the local farmers whose lands are sure to go. Following the objections by the local farmers over it, a meeting had already been arranged to listen to their view and act on the issue.
The farmers of Lagacherla strongly opposed the proposed project, and a public consultation was arranged on Monday in the outskirts of Dudyal village. During the consultation, Vikarabad District Collector Prateek Jain, along with key officials including Special Officer of Kodangal Urban Development Authority Venkat Reddy, Additional Collector Linga Nayak, and Sub-Collector Umashankar Prasad, were present to engage with the farmers.
However, the farmers, who were primarily gathered in Lagacherla, chose to stay in their village rather than attending the consultation in Dudyal. Suresh, a local farmer, approached the Collector, urging him to relocate the consultation to Lagacherla, where the farmers were assembled. After considering the request, the Collector and officials agreed to move the session to Lagacherla.
Upon arriving in Lagacherla, the Collector was met with a hostile reception. Locals began protesting loudly, chanting “Collector Down, Down,” and some attempted to physically confront him despite multiple warnings. The situation escalated quickly, forcing the police to intervene and escort the Collector to safety. The protesters did not stop there; they turned their anger towards the vehicles, smashing windows and damaging the cars with stones and sticks. During the incident, Special Officer Venkat Reddy was also attacked.