WARANGAL: A cotton farmer, Banoth Ravi, 41, died after he was run over by a truck at the Enumamula Market Yard during the early hours of Thursday. The farmer who hails from Devaruppula of Jangaon district brought his produce to sell on Wednesday. However, the market officials refused to buy it as it contained more than 15 per cent moisture in it. They suggested to him to dry the cotton and put it on sale again.
The farmer spread his 50 bags of cotton on the market campus for drying. He was also provided with a tarpaulin cover as there was some rain. He covered the cotton from getting wet and he too slept under the same cover. At about 2.30 am, a truck arrived at the market.
The driver wanted to reach a godown but the road was blocked due to the presence of several vehicles, cotton bags and some produce spread over the place. He drove over the produce of Ravi but did not see him sleeping under the tarpaulin cover. The wheels ran over the legs of the sleeping farmer.
Other farmers and officials who heard Ravi’s painful cries rushed him to a nearby private hospital. He suffered excessive blood loss and was shifted to the MGM hospital where he succumbed to injuries. The truck driver fled from the spot.
Following the death of the farmer, protests erupted at the market yard demanding justice for the farmer. With the protestors turning violent, the police arrested several of them.
Congress leaders Gandra Venkata Ramana Reddy and Janga Raghava Reddy were among those taken to the Matwada police station.
