A human chain formed by the people of Ramanthali panchayat here on November 1 has turned the spotlight on their concerns about an alleged move of the government for another phase of land acquisition for the expansion of the Indian Naval Academy (INA) at Ezhimala.
The protest under the aegis of the Ezhimala Action Committee on Saturday brought to the fore the fears of the local residents about the move to acquire 500 more acres for the expansion of the academy.
Alleging that the government plans to acquire additional land, the action committee said the residents in the area cannot afford to be at the receiving end of another move to take over land by evicting them.
Thousands of people had already been evicted from the area when 2,800 acres was acquired for the development of the INA, the action committee stated.
Moreover, those who had been evicted from their land were still fighting legal battles seeking adequate compensation, it pointed out.
“We have information that government-level moves are under way to take over 500 acres on the pretext of expanding the academy,” says Mouvanal Chandran, a social activist in the panchayat and member of the action committee.
“The panchayat is yet to come out of the distress caused by the eviction of over 1,000 families from the area 30 years ago for the development of the academy,” he added.
The action committee leaders said INA authorities had approached the State government seeking 500 acres for starting a facility.
On the direction of the Revenue Secretary, the District Collector had already identified three areas in the panchayat, they said.
The fresh move to take over land was made when the INA possessed nearly 3,300 acres, they noted. A large extent of land already acquired for the INA had been left unutilised, they added.
Among those who joined the 14-km long human chain were MLAs C. Krishnan and T.V. Rajesh, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary P. Ramakrishnan, Indian Union Muslim League leader V.K. Abdul Khader Moulavi, Bharatiya Janata Party leader P.K. Velayudhan, and local leaders of various cultural and religious organisations.
The protest saw the local residents and leaders venting their grievances. They said the promises given to them at the time of land acquisition were yet to be fulfilled.
The residents also took a pledge that they would not surrender even a small piece of their land.
