KOCHI: The alleged attempt by a private party to encroach on the lake in Chathamma near Panangad in Kumbalam panchayat was stopped by fishermen and residents on Monday. According to the fishermen, the documents presented justifying the encroachment were forged by the private party.
Earlier, one of the fishermen in the area had submitted a petition before the panchayat ombudsman to stop the encroachment.
Expecting the protest by the fishermen and landowners in the neighbourhood, the Kumbalam panchayat secretary also arrived at the spot and held discussions with them. The protest was led by Fishermen Federation (AITUC) state general secretary T Raghuvaran.
“The water supply to the paddy fields belonging to five farmers was blocked using forged documents. This was already questioned by one of the farmers — Joseph Perumbally — who filed a petition against MPS convent, Chathamma, the alleged private party behind the encroachment, in November last year. Expecting a tense situation, the taluk surveyor and panchayat secretary arrived on the spot and stopped the bid,” said one of the regional leaders of the federation, V O Johny.
Johny said concrete slabs and pillars were stocked inside the compound of the convent so that once the measuring was complete, they could claim the area. He also alleged that the forged document claimed that the convent was conducting paddy cultivation in the area earlier.
Fishermen protested in front of the officials. The convent already has two and a half acres of land in the same neighbourhood and they claimed ownership of another 90 cents on the banks of the lake. The fishermen objected to this as well.