Members of the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front on Wednesday staged a protest in Irugur against the district administration’s delay in measuring and allotting land earmarked for Dalits.
According to sources, the members led by the Front’s State president P. Sampath, and Communist Party of India-Marxist’s State Committee member P.R. Natarajan gave up the protest following assurances from the Revenue Department officials that they would soon complete the land measurement exercise and allot the land.
The protestors said that though the State Government had 20 years ago given title deeds (patta) to 294 Dalits, the delay in measuring and earmarking the allotted land made sure that the Dalits continued to suffer.
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The Front had made several representations and sent reminders but they were of no use.
Finally, the beneficiaries were forced to take things head on, and on Wednesday, they and the Front members marched in protest from Dynamo Club in Irugur to the allotted land. Overcoming the barricades, the members entered the land and planted a name board for the locality, the sources said.
The Sulur Taluk officials, visited the protest venue, explained to the Front leaders and the beneficiaries that the delay in earmarking the land was due to a legal dispute and now that the dispute was resolved they would complete the task within a week of getting the court order.
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Following the assurances, the beneficiaries and Front leaders withdrew their protest but warned that they be forced to stage another protest, if the delay continued.