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Vedi activists vacate encroached land

Staff Reporter

Threaten to re-launch agitation after 60 days SHOW OF STRENGTH:

SHOW OF STRENGTH: Sadhu Jana Vimochana Samyukta Vedi leader Laha Gopalan addressing the Vedi activists who staged a march in Pathanamthitta town on Sunday.

PATHANAMTHITTA: Encroachers owing allegiance to the Sadhu Jana Vimochana Samyukta Vedi on Sunday vacated the encroached areas of the Chandanappally rubber estate attached to the State Plantation Corporation at Vakayar-Elappupara, near Konni.

The withdrawal from the Government land after the four-day encroachment agitation was following a written assurance given by Additional District Magistrate B. Mohanan that the Government would hold discussions on their demands in the next 60 days.

About 2,000 people, including women, children and elderly citizens, had encroached upon the Vakayar-Elappupara, Ezhimon and Chandanathadickal areas of the corporation land on Tuesday night.

The Vedi leaders said the encroachment was to press their demand for five acres of agriculture land to every landless people belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC) sections, besides Rs.50,000 each towards their rehabilitation expenses.

March staged

The Vedi activists staged a march in Pathanamthitta town on Sunday afternoon.

Treasurer of the organisation Laha Gopalan addressed the marchers who staged a sit-in in front of the Collectorate. Mr. Gopalan said the encroachment of the Government land was the second stage of agitation by the landless SC people when the Government failed to comply with its earlier promise to consider their demands favourably.

The Vedi workers had staged a satyagraha in front of the Mini Civil Station in Pathanamthitta from August 15, 2005 to January 11.

The satyagraha was called off following an assurance given by the then Chief Minister Oommen Chandy that the Government would consider their genuine demands favourably in a time-bound manner.

Mr. Gopalan said he had lost trust in the Government that failed to keep its promises. He alleged that no people's representative had turned up even to enquire about the problems of the landless SC people during their four-day agitation at Vakayar-Elappupara. The indifferent attitude of the people's representatives belonging to different political parties towards the Vedi activists' agitation was testimony to the neglected state of the downtrodden sections of society, Mr. Gopalan alleged.

He said the Vedi would re-launch its agitation if the Government failed to keep its promise. The 60-day deadline would expire on August 25, he said.

Vedi leaders N. Karunakaran, Remani Satheesan and Mohanan also spoke.

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