Families protest over unfulfilled land allotment promise in Mangaluru

Mangaluru: In a show of dissent, several families staged a protest in front of the Gurupura Nada Kacheri, under the banner of the Kuppepadavu Niveshana Rahithara Horata Samithi, condemning the failure of authorities to allot land even years after issuing title deeds.Back in 2018, under the leadership of MLA Bharath Shetty, 97 families from the Kuppepadavu gram panchayat were issued title deeds and promised sites. While the sites were identified at the time, the land was neither acquired nor handed over. Seven years on, the beneficiaries continue to be in limbo, sparking accusations of betrayal and negligence.In Jan this year, the families formed a protest committee and resumed their demand for the promised land. During a demonstration held in front of the Kuppepadavu panchayat in Jan, the deputy tahsildar assured the aggrieved residents that the sites would be handed over by the end of Feb, they claimed.With no action taken, the families staged another protest on Tuesday at the Gurupura Nada Kacheri. Tempers flared when the deputy tahsildar, who visited the protest site, attributed the delay to technical issues in acquiring the land. Protesters expressed outrage at this explanation and issued a stern warning that if the land is not acquired and allotted immediately, they would resort to an indefinite protest at the gram panchayat and take direct action to reclaim the identified sites.The protesters criticised MLA Bharath Shetty for failing to uphold his promise to the landless poor and slammed Congress leader Innayat Ali for his silence on the issue. The protest was inaugurated by CPM district secretary Muneer Katipalla.