BERHAMPUR: Even as people across Ganjam celebrate Durga Puja with pomp and fervour, a family from Laudigaon within Golanthara police limits in the district, is leading a miserable life after being ostracised by for not parting with its land.
The family of 17 including two school children were ostracised by a kangaroo court of the village committee on August 23. The family was meted out the treatment as it did not agree to part with its ancestral land.
S Mahesh, the head of the family, said he and the others used to earn a livelihood by plucking kewda flowers from the land. This apart, a few members of the family worked as daily wagers at nearby places including IISER.
The family’s ordeal started when a few villagers tried to take over the land forcibly. The matted reached Golanthara police which managed to settle the issue by asking the two sides to reach a compromise.
Mahesh’s family thought the worse was over. But the village committee, in a meeting, barred the family from the village. The diktat issued at the kangaroo court meant that the family was barred from buying essentials from shops and collect water from tubewells in the village. Even the children were barred from taking tuitions in the village.
The committee also warned the villagers they would be imposed a fine of Rs 30,000 if they remained in contact with the family. Further the committee asked ‘kewda bhati’ (processing units) not to buy flowers from the family.
As if this was not enough, contractors were asked not to engage any member of the family in any work being undertaken at IISER. “We showed the letter of compromise to shopkeepers, bhati owners and others but in vain,” said Mahesh.
The village has around 250 households and that of Mahesh is at the end of it. “Fetching water from other villages is a tough task for us,” said Mahesh’s daughter Garriamma. On Friday, the family was summoned to Golanthara police station on the direction of higher-ups. But as Mahesh and his family reached the police station, they were told that the IIC was out on patrolling duty.
Refuting the family’s allegations, village head Naidu N Dileshu said no family has been ostracised from the village. If shopkeepers are not selling essentials to the family, it could be due to a dispute, he said .
Relentless harassment
The family's ordeal started when some villagers tried to take over the land forcibly
Police managed to convince both the parties to reach a compromise
Yet the harassment of the family continues