A district-level ‘patta’ distribution function of the Revenue Department witnessed unruly scenes after about 450 families raised a furore over them not being given the document here on Tuesday.
The protestors even threatened not to let Revenue Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan leave the venue unless they were given the ‘pattas’ they were promised.
The episode began when the 450 families from Purakad village reached the Alappuzha Municipal Town Hall this morning after being invited by Revenue officials to receive the ‘pattas’ that they were promised long back. The families were given land possession certificates earlier, and were even given houses, but not the ‘pattas’.
At Tuesday’s functions, officials announced that the pattas would be given only later since the land survey was not yet completed. This infuriated the families, who started protesting, saying they would not return without the document.
Though District Collector Sourabh Jain and Revenue Divisional Officer A. Gopakumar tried to pacify them, they withdrew only after the Minister himself spoke to them and assured that they would be given the ‘pattas’ without delay.
