PATHANAMTHITTA: Chengara land struggle leader Laha Gopalan died here on Wednesday at the age of 72. He was undergoing treatment in the Pathanamthitta General Hospital after testing positive for COVID-19. He was suffering from various old age ailments for some years.
As many as 300 landless families led by the Sadhu Jana Vimochana Samyukta Vedi had encroached on nearly 145 hectares of land under Harrison Malayalam Limited’s rubber plantation at Chengara near Konni on August 4, 2007. They had demanded five acres for farming and Rs 50,000 in cash towards initial farming expenses to each of the families.
Gopalan was the leader of this historic agitation that brought the state's attention to land struggles across the state. Around five years ago, Gopalan left the Chengara action council.