The Bhoo Samrakshana Samith (BSS) on Tuesday entered the area attached to the land bank in Sinkukandam by the government. Volunteers hoisted flags as part of an agitation to forcibly ‘acquire’ the land for distribution to landless people.
About hundred people participated in the agitation which began as a march from the main junction in which Communist Party of India (Marxist) leaders including district committee secretary K.K. Jayachandran, MLA, S. Rajenran MLA and State council member K.P. Mary participated.
The agitation was led by BSS chairman N.V. Baby and convenor P.N. Vijayan. Addressing media persons, after hoisting the flags, Mr. Vijayan said the strike would be taken up by the BSS formed under the area committees for 10 days and on January 11, it would erect sheds in the demarcated area.
The BSS demanded distribution of one acre of land and a house to landless adivasis, 25 cents and a house to those in the Scheduled Caste category and a house and cultivable land to the landless people in the general category. He said that the government’s criticism that the agitation was launched to sabotage its move to distribute three cents of land each to the landless people did not hold water.
“The government could so far demarcate only 2,000 acres of land while about 7,000 acres remain as ‘micha bhoomi,” he said. The delay in distributing the land was to support those who illegally hold vast areas of ‘micha bhoomi’, he alleged.
Earlier, inaugurating the agitation CPI(M) state secretariat member Baby John said that the Land Reforms Act brought about by the E.M.S. Ministry was to distribute the land to the landless.
However, he said that the United Democratic Front government was following a policy of supporting the land mafia.
