A human chain from Alappuzha town to Thiruvalla in Pathanamthitta district will be formed from 4 p.m. on March 29 under the banner of Kerala Karshaka Sangham demanding that the Rs. 1840 crore Kuttanad package be implemented in a corrupt-free and in accordance with the Dr. M.S. Swaminthan report.
Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, M. Sreekumaran Thampy, secretary, district organising committee and others said that Sangham State president and CPI (M) leader, E.P. Jayarajan will be the first link in the human chain at the Municipal Square. State joint secretary of the Sangham, George Mathew will be part of the chain in Kuttanad, while All India Kisan Sabha Central committee member, Sreeja will also participate in the chain in Alappuzha. CPI (M) leaders, P.K. Chandranandan and C.S. Sujatha, MLAs, Dr. Thomas Isaac, G. Sudhakaran and C.K. Sadasivan and CPI (M) district secretary, C.B. Chandrababu will be joining the chain at various places . Leaders in the cultural and literary fields will also be part of the chain, they said.
The chain in the district will be 24.5 km long starting from Muncipal Square and will take the Kallupalam, Pazhaveedu route and reach the district boundary of Kidangara in M.C. Road through Kaithavanamukku. The chains from Kidangara to Perunna to Thiruvalla will be organised by Kottayam and Pathanamthitta district committees of the Sangham. A pledge will be taken by the members of the chain at 5 p.m. Meetings will be organised at Muncipal Square, Kaithavana Mukku, Pooppally, Mankombu, Ramankary and Kidangara in the district after the pledge.
They said that the Kuttanad was veering away from its right track due to the vested interests. “The package had put forward various suggestions with regard to the development of agriculture and allied sectors in Kuttanad area. But the suggestions were not implemented on a priority basis and the implementation lacked coordination. The package is in a dormant stage. The Central Planning Commission led by Ms. Sudha Pillai who visited Kuttanad itself had remarked that the implementation of the package was deviating with the original objectives. Hence a human chain was formed with a call to free the package from corruption and implemented in accordance with the Dr. Swaminathan report,” they pointed out.
