Trinath
Harinagar, Middle Andaman, Aug 20: The dependents of settler families residing in Swadesh Nagar Gram Panchayat to Basantipur Gram Panchayat, who are also well known by the name RBD Settlers have decided to form a committee to safeguard their rights and to raise their grievances infront of the Administration for legal solutions. On 17th of August they organized a mass campaign and corner meetings at Billyground.
Talking to Andaman Sheekha the agitating members of Settler families said that the settlers of the region have suffered a lot since the time they were settled. They alleged that over the years they have raised their problems infront of almost all top officials of A & N Administration but till now their voice remained unheard. “Hence we have decided to follow Gandhian Path and will launch a satyagraha,” said an angry resident of Harinagar.
Investigation by Andaman Seekha also revealed that these settler families were settled near the bank of the rivers since beginning and with the time they have lost considerable portion of their land because of land erosion.
They tried explaining their problems to the local administration but their grievances were neither properly heard nor acted upon. The families broke down because now they don’t have enough land left for cultivation of crops and for their livelihood.
Some sources also informed Andaman Sheekha that these farmers are fuming with anger because they had approached the authorities repeatedly but no one helped them and the people who were never settled in these Islands and who came much later than them have made several encroachments, which were regularized unethically by the administration.
“We are angry because when others encroach land, their lands are regularized but when the troubled families of Settlers encroach land the DC invokes Section 144,” said another angry agitator.
Clearly anger is brewing among the settlers families of Middle Andaman and the Administration should atleast listen to their problems sympathetically. Recently a group of people, who lost their land due to land erosion, had encroached a large portion of land in Harinagar, following which the DC had invoked section 144 on that encroached land. This is high time for Administration to look into this problem before this issue takes a dangerous shape.
