With police protection, Gas Authority of India (GAIL) Ltd. continued its pipeline-laying work on the already identified stretches of Kodiyathur grama panchayat in Kozhikode district.
The protest was minimal in the area though leaders of various political parties, including the Indian Union Muslim league (IUML) and the Congress, continued their field visits expressing solidarity with landowners’ fight for justice.
Police protection was doubled in some areas near Mukkom, where a people’s agitation was found gaining momentum under the leadership of a local coordination of anti-GAIL pipeline project. The police said they would prevent all attempts to interrupt the work as GAIL did not want to stop it in the absence of any government order seeking the same.
GAIL authorities said they had already disbursed ₹4 crore among eligible landholders in Kozhikode district alone as part of securing the right of use (RoU) in the alignment area. They said efforts were on to reduce the 20-metre width of the RoU to 10 metres in areas where the land holders were found possessing four or five cents of land.
Recommendation
An officer attached to GAIL said a recommendation would be made to the Collector to consider preparing a special package for people who own paddy fields and wetland.