Udupi, Mar 16: Residents of Mudarangady in Yellur gram panchayat have strongly resisted the moves of a team of officials led by Udupi Tahsildar which arrived in the village on March 14, Thursday, with earthmovers to demolish houses built on government lands.
The officials had intended to raze to the ground the houses of Sabeena, Havabi, Shafiya, Hasina Banu, Shabana and Zeenat who are least among the poorest, living in houses built on state-owned land, located nearby Sunni Jamiya masjid at Mudarangady. The houses which have been identified for demolition have been occupied since over five years with the families even applying for title deeds.
The former state minister Vasant V Salian who arrived at the location opposed the demolition and urged the authorities to go ahead with this operation provided it was applicable to the entire district.
Finally, the Kaup MLA Lalaji Mendon who too arrived at the spot, instructed the Tahsildar not to go ahead with the demolition, as there was a possibility of an Act aimed at legalizing the encroached lands coming into effect at the earliest in the state.
Yellur gram panchayat members Nagesh Bhat and Jayant Kumar, Kaup Block Congress President Gangadhar Suvarna, M P Moideenabba, Srinivas Sharma, Naveen N Shetty, Abdul Aziz, Navinchandra Suvarna, Laxmi Moolya, Santosh Shetty, revenue inspector Ganesh Balegar, Village Accountant Punit, Panchayat Development Officer Vasantibai and others were present at the occasion.
