Samooga Neethi Katchi protests to provide 5 cents of land to Dalits in Panchami lands
Coimbatore: Samooga Neethi Katchi protests to provide 5 cents of land to Dalits in Panchami lands. There are 11.5 lakh acres of Panchami lands in Tamil Nadu. Of this, 1200 acres of Panchami land is in the area under the North Coimbatore Tahsildar alone. Of the 1200 acres, 30% is occupied by other communities and 70% by people of other castes in the name of Dalits. Brick kilns, colleges, hospitals and the private sector occupy these Panchami lands. It is alleged that even after repeated petitions to the authorities, including the District Collector, to reclaim these lands no action has been taken.
More than 150 members of the Social Justice Party staged a protest near the Periyanaickenpalayam bus stand demanding the return of the Panchami land and the granting of a patta to the Dalits. They raised slogans demanding an act to reclaim the Panchami lands and provide 5 cents of land to landless people. They also requested for an acre of land for agriculture while reclaining the Panchami lands and cultivating it.