THOOTHUKUDI: Laying claim to public roads, pattadars constructed a wall concealing the entrance gates of three houses in Mathavankurichi village near Udangudi. Meanwhile, the occupants of the house have alleged that they are being discriminated against by the perpetrators and urged the district administration to demolish the wall.
In a petition, S Malmarugan, a businessman, said he built a house south of the Thandavankadu-Kulasekarapattinam state highway. However, one Alaguvel built a wall in 2019 blocking the gate of his house and claimed ownership of 2.5 cents of land between Malmarugan’s house and the road.
Sources said the Thandavankadu-Kulasekarapattinam road is supposed to be 53 feet wide. However, pattadars have encroached upon 10 feet of land in front of Malmarugan’s house, and another 30 feet outside the houses near the Mutharaman temple. The width of the state highways has been reduced to 13 feet in front of Malmarugan's house, sources added.
Following litigation and complaints, the Tiruchendur revenue divisional officer (RDO), in an executive order dated October 1, had ruled that the patta for the road was illegal as the occupants did not provide any supporting documents other than a patta and parent documents during inquiries. While the illegal patta names 11 members, many of them had moved away and admitted that they did not have any documents. However, Alaguvel, a relative of one of the pattadars, had claimed ownership, the RDO said.
The RDO's executive order also noted that reports of the village administrative officer, tahsildar, and block development officer (BDO) prove that the supposed land remained unused by the claimants, and was used as a pathway by the general public before and after UDR. Alaguvel does not possess any parent document for the land, and hence, this land should remain as a road, the RDO ruled and also ordered the claimants to appeal against the order within 30 days to the district revenue officer.
Assistant director (Panchayat) S Ulaganathan, on October 17, directed the Udangudi BDO to cancel the permission given to build the wall and restore it as a pathway as it was used before 2019. However, no action was taken.
Speaking to TNIE, Malmarugan said he belongs to the Servaikarar sect of the Shannar community, while Alaguvel belongs to the Nadar community.
Malmarugan, one of the state secretaries of Tamil Manila Congress, said Alaguvel often comes near his house and verbally abuses him for hailing from an ‘inferior’ community. "Why do you use the name Nadar?" Alaguvel can be heard shouting at Malmarugan in a video, which the latter also submitted to the Kulasekarapattinam police demanding action. "The officials refuse to demolish the wall citing law and order issues. The district administration and the police must demolish the wall and ensure social justice," Malmarugan said.