3-decade-old dispute about highways land resolved after peace talks
Temple and the private compound wall of a Muslim leader at Kayalpattinam removed from the highways land on Saturday. (Photo: DC)
Tirunelveli: The fight for land between Hindus and Muslims of Kayalpattinam town, near Tiruchendur, in Thoothukudi district, for more than 30 years has been permanently settled, the encroached land was handed over to its owner, the state highways department.
A small thatched Esakkiamman temple, built three decades ago by encroaching a piece of land owned by the Tamil Nadu highways department on the Thoothukudi-Tiruchendur main road in Muslim dominated Kayalpattinam, became an issue a few years ago.
The former Kayalpattinam municipal chairman, Mr Vavoo Seyad Abdur Rahman, a popular businessman in the region, built his house compound wall against the temple wall, claiming ownership over the land where the Esakkiamman temple was located. However, the local Hindu community strongly objected to removing the thatched temple that fell prey to ‘accidental’ fires four imes before.
In this backdrop, around 4 am on Saturday, the ‘temple’ roof caught fire for the fifth time. The Hindus, led by Mr V.P. Jeyakumar, the state deputy president of the Hindu Munnani, took to the streets demanding immediate action against the culprits.
The Hindu Munnani started renovating the damaged Esakkiamman temple with hallow cement bricks. Countering them, the cadres of Muslim outfits like the Muslim League, in which Mr Rahman is a functionary, United Muslim Front, Popular Front of India and Tamil Nadu Tawheed Jamad plunged into action and planted the Islamic religious flag near the temple and started praying in public.
For their part, officers from the department of state highways said the land belonged to them. Hundreds of police were deployed and Thoothukudi DSP M. Durai along with the Tiruchendur police DSP and revenue officers held talks with both sides. Respecting the words of Mr Durai, the leaders of both sides agreed to peace talks. This was arranged immediately at the office of the Tiruchendur RDO, Tamil Rajan.
According to Mr Rajan, both sides agreed to settle the issue permanently. The temple and private compound wall were removed around 4 pm and the land was handed over to the state highways
department.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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