THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The yellow notices pasted on both sides of the front boundary wall of ‘Sagargeeth’, a double-storied house in Pottankavu, near Kattakkada, are unmistakable. They herald the decision of the action council, which has been protesting against the delay in compensating landowners who had handed over their land and property documents for construction of the Vizhinjam ring road, to boycott elections.
The Vizhinjam-Navaikulam ring road is an ambitious project that is expected to facilitate the movement of freight once Vizhinjam port is operational. The proposed 80km-long road traverses 24 revenue villages. It has been touted as a project that would transform the development landscape of the capital district. But the nearly 8,200 families, who will have to part with their land, are unamused.
“We have decided to boycott the Lok Sabha election and all future elections till our issues are resolved,” says S Chandra Mohanan Nair, owner of ‘Sagargeeth’. Nair, who is also convenor of the action council, has pasted posters on all four sides of his property so as to ensure that politicians making their way to the area for election canvassing do not miss them.
Notices to boycott election come up in 11 villages
The government has already taken possession of property documents in 11 villages and is in the process of extending the process to the remaining 13 villages. However, authorities continue to remain non-committal on valuing the land and a time frame for distribution of compensation. The notification for acquiring land was issued 18 months ago, but not a single rupee in compensation has been made available, much to the chagrin of landowners.
“The politicians have been fooling us. All the parties are together in tormenting the victims of the project. Why should we be voting for them?” Nair asks. At 72, Nair is busy meeting authorities to press the issue, but says that nothing has materialised so far.
“The state government says the Centre is delaying it. The Centre is pinning the blame on the state government. They are engaged in a blame game and are unconcerned about our plight,” he said. The notices have come up in almost all the 11 villages.
An action council member from Kilimanoor, preferring anonymity, said the landowners, who had shared their documents with authorities, have equivocally expressed solidarity with the decision. “We are all on the same page with regard to boycotting elections,” he said.
According to M Salahudeen, another member of the council, many of those who are set to lose homes paid advance amounts to purchase new land. And because most haven’t been able to arrange the remaining money towards the purchase they have had to forego the advance payment. “There are people who paid lakhs of rupees as advance. They placed their hopes on the government compensating them on time,” he said.
Nair said the aggrieved people have informed political leaders of their decision to boycott polls. “The leaders have been told in their face that they are not welcome in our residences. Our message has been clearly conveyed to them,” he added.
‘Campaigners stay away’, say Naduvil voters
Peeved at the neglect towards damaged roads in four wards in the panchayat, residents of Naduvil in Kannur have decided to boycott the polls. They have placed banners, restricting campaigning activities in the area.