Chengara agitation to continue as talks fail

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Talks held by Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan to bring about a settlement to the agitation by the Sadhujana Samrakshana Samithi at Chengara in Pathanamthitta district failed on Wednesday.

While the Chief Minister maintained that the government could not meet their demand for immediate resettlement, the samithi leaders said they would continue their agitation for land.

The Chief Minister said the government was prepared to provide them land at Chengara or elsewhere if they were willing to wait. The government was identifying land at various places for distribution among tribal people and others. Court proceedings and evictions were to be completed before all the land became available. The distribution would be done in April or May.

Mr. Achuthanandan told the media that the samithi had rejected a call of the government to withdraw the stir and vacate the land they were occupying in Harrisons Malayalam Plantations. The government needed time for their resettlement.

He said the government wanted to settle the agitation without bloodshed. It would not be using police as the previous government had done to suppress similar agitation by tribal people at Muthanga. However, it cannot give them permission to occupy land against court orders.

Revenue Minister K.P. Rajendran said the landless could apply to village officers for allotment of land in connection with the second anniversary of the Left Democratic Front government.

Samithi president Laha Gopalan said their demand was for five acres of land per family. However, they were willing to settle for one acre each.

Congress leader Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, who attended the talks with the former Minister Adoor Prakash and others, said the Chief Minister had not directly addressed the issues behind the eight-month-old agitation. He had only talked of broad plans of the government to distribute land to the tribals and the poor and preferred to threaten the agitators with police action. He said he thought the government would settle the agitation by offering them 256 acres of land identified at Kollavila near Ranni. The government, which had submitted an affidavit in court to facilitate holding of excess land by realtors in the HMT case, took a negative stand when it came to land for the poor, he added.

To intensify stir

The Chenagara Bhoosamara Aikyadardya Samithi has charged Mr. Achuthanandan with having insulted the leaders of the Sadhujana Vimochana Samyuktha Vedi by offering three cents of land. In a statement, the samithi placed on record its strong protest at the development. It decided to intensify the activities in support of the stir. It resolved to convene a State-level solidarity convention here on March 29.

Solidarity committees would be set up in all the districts.

It would also take the initiative to ensure the support of all organisations of Dalits and tribal people and democratic and political movements for the stir.