Activists foil encroachment attempts on Kallai banks

Revenue officials protecting encroachers by dragging proceedings, alleges Kallai River Protection Committee

Despite vigilance put up under the aegis of the Kallai River Protection Committee, encroachment on the river banks continues unabated. One such attempt was foiled by the committee on Tuesday (November 26) evening. However, the committee members are worried that encroachers would resume work at night.

The committee members noticed the attempted encroachment on Tuesday afternoon in the backyard of the land previously occupied by the Mangalam press and later sold to a major construction company. They found that the mangrove trees in the marshy revenue land near the river were cut off and that construction waste was being used to fill the marshy land. “They are planning to convert the existing building into an auditorium and fill this land to facilitate parking”, said P.P. Ummer Koya, treasurer of the committee.

The committee members notified the Village officer of Kasaba immediately. However, the encroachers fled the scene by then, with the two earth movers and crane.

The Mangalam press had given up the marshy land in question in 2007 when it was pointed out that it was revenue land, when then Left Democratic Front (LDF) government started taking action against encroachments. The company that later bought the land of the press started slow encroachment by dumping the construction waste into the river and later filling the gaps with soil.

“It is sad that the revenue officials who come from other locations have little knowledge of the issue here and hence are unable to take quick action when an issue is pointed out,” said Faisal Pallikkandy, chairman of the committee, adding that they only recommend a survey to the tahsildar. “This is quite convenient for the encroachers who exploit the opportunity,” Mr. Koya said, while Mr. Pallikkandy alleged that the officials were protecting the encroachers by dragging the procedure. “There is no need for another survey of these lands, since they have already been surveyed,” he said.

The Committee members are keeping watch of the site at present, in fear that the encroachment will resume as soon as they move away.

Published - November 27, 2024 09:27 pm IST