Tense moments prevailed at Neerkachi Mandhu hamlet in the Nilgiris on Monday as Forest Department personnel removed a barbed wire fencing the people of Toda hamlet had erected around 2.5 acres at 7{+t}{+h}Mile on the Ooty to Mysore Road. Villagers had claimed that the piece of land belonged to them.
The place, also known as School Mund, was a popular film shooting spot. While the Forest Department claims that it is part of the reserve forest in Kurutukuli beat of Udhagai South Range, people of the tribal hamlet claim that it belongs to them and they had been using it for a long time.
In mid-May, the villagers claimed that the piece of land belonged to them and removed a board put up by the department. “It was decided that both parties would not carry out any activity on the portion of land till it was surveyed,” Udhagai South Range officer B. Rajesh said.
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On Friday, the Range Officer said that people of the hamlet violated the oral agreement and erected a barbed wire around the place. “Based on the directions of the District Forest Officer in-charge of The Nilgiris South Division, S.N. Tejaswi, we removed the fencing on Monday amid protest by the villagers,” Mr. Rajesh said. More than 40 forest personnel in the rank of forest rangers, foresters, guards and watchers removed the fence after a heated argument with the villagers. Mr. Rajesh said the piece of land would be surveyed by revenue officials on Wednesday.
Claiming that there are records to prove the portion of land belongs to the department, the range officer said a case would be registered against the villagers under Sections of the Tamil Nadu Forest Act and stringent action taken if they were found guilty of encroaching upon the reserve forest.