Theni: People of Lakshmipuram village organised a novel lamp light protest on Monday evening demanding the former Chief Minister, Mr O. Panneerselvam to make his stand clear on the controversial land issue to the public.
“Instead of playing politics with us, let Panneerselvam openly declare that he is not willing to give the 14-cent patta land with the well as 'gift deed’ to the Lakshmipuram village panchayat as he had promised earlier,” said K Karthikeyan, the village panchayat president told DC.
Nearly 1,000 women went on a procession carrying ‘Kuthu Vilakku (lamps)’ in the main streets of the village raising slogans stating they would continue to protest till they get physical possession of the huge well. The villagers have been protesting against Panneerselvam's family since June 21, when they attempted to dig an open well in the land near the Varattaru river in Thamarikulam village in the panchayat to irrigate 200 areas of land when the people were facing acute shortage of drinking water owing to severe drought this year. “When Panneerselvam held the first round of talks with the village committee at the circuit house on July 13, he agreed to sell the land with well to the people and gave three months time for us to purchase,” said the villagers.
But he had secretly transferred the land and well in two survey numbers which was in his wife Vijayalakshmi's name to one R. Subburaj from the same village a day before he agreed to participate for the peace talks, said Karthikeyan.
