THRISSUR: The land mafia engaged in illegal filling up of land here is continuing unabated even after the change of guard. Acting on the complaint of the local people including a ward member in December last year, the revenue officials had conducted a survey at the Kalani-Maruthiyur canal banks and found rampant encroachment.
“But due to the failure on the part of the district administration, Pavaratty panchayat and the village officer, filling of river banks erecting coconut trunks restarted at Kalani- Chakkamkandam banks after elections,” Paravatty Panchayat ward member Sabeesh Marithayur said.
At Kalani-Maruthiyur, he said, it was a prominent Congress leader, who is the director of a co-operative bank, who encroached the canal banks whereas, in the new locality, a major realtor was now engaged in illegal activities. In a report of the Pavaratty sub-inspector to the district collector last year, it was mentioned that in his inspection of the area concerned he had found ramps made of huge granite stones in the canal and using country boats sand was mined from the riverbed and used to reclaim the area protected by laying the stones.
Local people say the illegal reclamation is conducted during the night, and the encroached land is protected using pointed iron wires preventing the fisherfolk venturing into the canal. Reacting to the reports of illegal reclamation of the canal banks, Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar told reporters on Thursday that strict action would be taken against the land mafia.
