Wayanad: The indefinite sit-in protest by landless families, a majority of them tribals, in front of the Collectorate here led by CPI ML (Red flag), reached the third day on Friday.
Though the district administration had convened a meeting of agitators and forest officials to reach an amicable solution, it failed.
It may be recalled that forest department personnel with the help of police had forcibly evicted the landless families who had encroached on the vested forest kand of Harrisons Malayalam Plantation at Thoverimala on Wednesday. The agitators had encroached the land on Sunday, Easter Day. The land was taken over by the forest department as excess land from the Harrisons Malayalam Plantation in 2000, according to forest officials.
The agitation was led by All India Revolutionary Kissan Sabha, the farmers’ arm of CPI (ML) Red Star and its tribal arm, Adivasi Bharath Mahasabha.
Action committee member Vinod Kumar told reporters that the indefinite agitation will continue till the landless receive land and the release of three leaders of the agitation including MP Kunhikkanaran who arrested by police slapping non-bailable sections.
Though there are provisions to distribute land for the landless from vested forest land, the government is adamant to deny the same for the hapless families, he said.
