Six pucca houses built by encroaching land meant for the Adi Dravida burial ground in Konavattam were demolished by the Vellore Corporation authorities on Wednesday.
Residents, mostly women who remained in their houses. They refused to allow the authorities to demolish the houses were removed with the help of the police, after which the demolition and eviction were carried out.
When asked about the action, Janaki Ravindran,, Commissioner of Vellore Corporation told The Hindu that the encroachments were present for more than 15 years from the time Konavattam was a village panchayat.
When the Corporation issued notices to the residents a few months ago asking them to vacate their houses which constituted encroachments on the Adi Dravida burial ground, they filed petitions in the District Munsif Court, Vellore challenging the notices. About a month ago, the court issued an order dismissing the petitions.
“We carried out the eviction only on the basis of the court order”, she said.
