VELLORE: The village of Kalathur continues to draw state-wide and even national attention, with the villagers’ ongoing three-month-long battle against the demands of the sand mafia to allow sand mining in the area with leaders of political parties including DMDK’s chief Vijayakant and VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan visiting the village on Monday to show their solidarity with the villagers.
Kalathur village, with close to 270 families, welcomed the support of the leaders and declared they will not be divided on political lines and will not allow the environmental issue to be politicised.
Actor-turned-politician, Vijayakant, told the villagers not to look on him as a politician but accept his support on the issue. He stressed the importance of not allowing natural resources to be plundered. He visited the Palar riverbed site for the proposed sand quarry that remains stalled following objections from the villagers.
The villagers gathered in front of a temple at the village and have been camping there in tents. They are also cooking and consuming food as a group. This, according to villagers, is to symbolise their unity on the issue.
The DMDK leader, Vijayakant met the villagers at the camp and interacted with them for nearly half an hour. Two hours after he left, it was Thirumavalavan’s turn to express his solidarity to the villagers. He, however, addressed the issue on caste lines by saying that Dalits are facing such problems in the State and law-enforcement agencies are acting against the community.
He declared that the party will stage a protest at Ranipet on June 19 to highlight the issue.
He also assured that he would make every effort to bring the villagers lodged in the prison in connection with the protests on bail and help them fight the cases legally. Thirumavalavan also urged them to stay united on the cause.
Rahul, a villager, said “We welcome the (politicians’) support but we will remain united and not be divided on political or communal lines,” he said.
It may be recalled that the villagers made demand drafts for the amount of Rs 2.12 lakh, which was distributed by the sand mafias in an attempt to bribe around 30 families, and sent it to the CM’s Public Relief Fund on March 19.
“The police have filed a total of 18 cases against 32 vilalgers, including 15 college and school students, since February this year to scare us. But we will not bow to these kind of threats,” said a group of villagers in unison.
