Tension prevailed for some time in the reserve forest area in Sattupalli mandal of Khammam district on Monday when a group of local tribal women tried to prevent the Forest staff from detaining two tribal men in connection with a ‘podu land’ issue.

According to reports, the incident took place near Tamaracheruvu in Kakarlapalli beat late on Monday afternoon.

Mild jostling broke out between the local tribal women and women staff of the Forest department when the latter reportedly tried to detain two tribal men on charges of causing damage to trenches dug up for plantation purposes in around 10 hectares of forest land.

The enraged tribal people squatted in front of a forest vehicle, vehemently staking claim over the forest land as their ‘podu land’.

According to sources in the Forest department, the incident occurred when the staff reached the spot to foil an attempt by a group of tribal people to take up ‘podu cultivation’ in the reserve forest land in compartment number 157, terming it as ‘encroachment’ on forest land.