THOOTHUKUDI: Condemning the district administration for not taking steps to remove the encroachment of a cart track by a private salt pan company in Sri Vaikundaperumalpuram village, the residents announced an indefinite hunger strike at Kilavi Amman temple from Monday.
Sri Vaikundaperumalpuram village, located in Vaippar 2 village panchayat in Vilathikulam taluk, has a tank spread across 60 acres that receives water from the Kammalan kanmoi tank and other catchment areas during monsoon. The villagers, who are poor farmhands, cultivate crops and vegetables on over 300 acres of wetland and several acres of dry land for their sustenance.
According to the villagers, a cart track leading to the tank carries water from Kammalan kanmoi tank, and the runoff rainwater to the Sri Vaikundaperumalpuram tank. "However, now, the cart track has been heightened to 3 ft above the ground for a stretch of 2 km, thereby converting it into a pathway to reach the salt pans of a private company. Ever since the heightening, the pathway hinders water flow to the tank during the rainy season, and also floods the nearby farmland troubling farmers and public", the villagers claimed.
Recently, as per the direction of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, the district collector initiated a field investigation through Kovilpatti RDO and Vilathikulam tahsildar. Based on their reports, the collector stated that the pathway constructed over the cart track was an illegal encroachment, and directed the Vilathikulam tahsildar, in an executive order dated July 31, to remove the pathway and restore the cart track forthwith. However, the tahsildar has not taken any action so far, the villagers said.
They further said that the tahsildar had allegedly refrained from taking action stating that the salt pan company had moved a petition before the appellate authority. However, the petition was not taken for consideration, they added.
Speaking to TNIE, village head V Palanisamy said, "We could not move a contempt petition against the parties since all of us are daily wage labourers and financially poor."
In order to pressure the district administration to remove the pathway before the monsoon rains, the villagers have decided to stage an indefinite hunger strike unto death at Kilavi Amman temple from Monday, said SM Gandhi, an activist.
