The NH-17 Joint Protest Committee began a fresh round of protest in the wake of the reported move for land acquisition for road widening.
The latest discussions of land acquisition are taking place at a time when the holdings acquired along the 24-km stretch between Edappally and Moothakunnam at a width of 30 metres for widening the road into six lanes years ago remains unutilised, said the protest committee.
The first in the series of Jana Jagratha gatherings, the protest meetings, to be held in all local body limits through which the Edappally-Moothakunnam National Highway 17 passes, began at Edappally on Thursday.
Hibi Eden, MLA, inaugurated the meeting.
Edappally block panchayat president M.R. Antony, and social activists C.R. Neelakandan, Hashim Chennampally, Francis Kalathunkal, E.V. Muhamadali, and T.K. Sudhirkumar attended.
One meeting each will be held a week in the local bodies which would be affected by the proposal.
The meetings would be attended by people’s representatives and political, social and cultural leaders, according to the organisers.
The evictees were given neither a decent compensation nor provided rehabilitation while many of them are still making rounds of courts with cases pertaining to the issue, the committee said.
The move to evict families all over again from their houses and buildings constructed after the initial acquisition, on the ground that the standard for national highway widening is 45 metres was nothing but anti-people. The public would oppose it at all costs, the committee warned.