Malappuram: While PWD minister G. Sudhakaran strongly condemned the involvement of anti-socials and extremist elements who attempted to unleash violence in AR Nagar by blocking the survey for the National Highway expansion, the action council office-bearers and K.N.A. Khader MLA alleged that it was the police who unleashed the violence. Many of the residents pointed out that the new alignment was taking an entirely new direction and the demolition of houses could be exempted if the existing highway was expanded. The authorities also had cleared the idea of drafting a different alignment and the task of clearing the people on the stretch was bestowed on the action council. Moves were also afoot to bring in line the committees of a mosque and temple, situated on the alignment.
The leader of the action council, Abulaiz Thenjippalam told DC that after issuing a notification for the land acquisition, the victims should have been given three weeks’ time for hearing and reconciliation. “In districts like Alappuzha, Kollam and Thiruvananthpuram, the affected people were given enough time”, he said, adding that in Malappuram, the victims got only five days after the notification which came out on March 14. “We were treated like foes. Houses were attacked by police. Even children and women were beaten up. It is happening when G Sudhakaran even wrote a poem on the plight of developmental victims,” he said.
He added, “Those with common sense will not see the involvement of Maoists, SDPI workers or any other extremist forces in the agitation. So far the agitation was peaceful. If the state government continues to move in an anti-people manner, I fear things may change in the near future”, he added. KNA Khader MLA told DC that the survey was started at a time the action council and district administration were trying to sort out issues. “I don’t understand why they are doing such a thing at a time there were discussions on”, he said. A meeting of the all-party action council office-bearers, MLAs and National Highway Authority officials was scheduled to be held at the chamber of the minister on April 11. The victims also said that the government failed to observe even the mandatory guidelines to be followed while evicting people for projects under the 1956 act.
