VELLORE: Around 150 residents of Vellanur Colony in Athurkuppam Panchayat (nearly five km from Natrampalli) resorted to a road-blockade along NH 46 demanding the restoration of the passageway that has traditionally allowed them access for over 15 years to a government poramboke land they have been using to bury their dead. The passageway has been fenced off by the owner of the land through which the passage way to the burial ground is built.
The Vellanur Colony residents have been using the government porambokku land (survey number 460) for the last 15 years in Thannerpanthal in Natrampalli Town Panchayat, as the site for the burial and cremation of their dead, although they have been allotted a designated site near the riverbed in Kuttur.
V Subramani, of Thannerpanthal, objected to the residents of Vellanur Colony using the land next to his house as a burial and cremation site for the deceased. In July, he allegedly razed down tombs marking burial sites on the poramboke land built by family members of the deceased and erected a fence on his land effectively blocking the passageway to the burial ground. Residents of Vellanur Colony approached officials concerned to take action against V Subramani not only for demolishing the tombs but also to restore the passageway to their burial ground. They also met with Minister of Education, K C Veeramani demanding redress. Revenue officials held talks with Subrmani and requested him to remove the fencing, but he did not pay heed to the direction of officials. With no apparent follow-up or further action coming from officials in response to their demands the residents were forced to resort to the protest.
Traffic was thrown out of gear along the busy Chennai-to-Bangalore NH 46 for over 90 minutes from around 9 a.m. when the residents squatted on the road voicing their demands. Hundreds of heavy vehicles, cars and buses queued for nearly three km on either side of the NH owing to the protest. The choked traffic was restored around 10.30 a.m. after the DSP of Tirupattur, K Subramaniam assured the protesters that suitable action would be taken to sort the problem out before the end of the day. “We are finding it difficult to take the procession of dead persons from our community to the burial ground. If officials fail to take steps to free the passage, it will lead to communal problems,” said a protester.