‘Kurava’ community women petition Collector, want land

'people also faced difficulties in getting bank loans for opening petty shops or to buy cattle to earn their livelihood'

A group of women, belonging to ‘Kurava’ community, from Pothampatti village near Usilampatti here, petitioned the Collector on Monday demanding to fulfil their long-pending demand for land.

M. Rajalakshmi, president of the group, said that while around 100 families were residing in the Samathuvapuram area in the village, 45 families did not have land.

“Some of us were allocated one cent of land. Later, when Mr. Sagayam was the Collector, he ordered the officials to allocate at least two cents each so that they can construct a decently fair-sized house,” she said.

J. Vasanthi from Institute for Self Management, a non-governmental organisation assisting the petitioners, said that, following Mr. Sagayam’s order, the same chunk of land allocated earlier was redistributed by the officials to a fewer number of people with each of them getting around 1.75 cents.

“So, the pattas of some of the beneficiaries, who were earlier allocated one cent, got cancelled,” she said.

“There is poromboke land in the area where these people presently reside, which can be allocated. However, the officials were yet to act despite several petitions,” she said.

“We are now living in shacks in the poromboke land. It becomes a huge problem during rains as the area is low-lying and located closer to a hill,” Ms. Rajalakshmi said.

She added that the c

“We want the Collector to intervene and help us,” she said.