Visakhapatnam, July 18, 2013: The Simhachalam land issue came to the fore again with the Samaikhya Praja, Rytu Sangham commencing relay hunger strike in front of the Collectorate here on Wednesday demanding the Government to do justice to the farmers cultivating the land and those who had built houses on the disputed land.

Several thousand families have built houses and farmers are enjoying the returns from the land in five villages before they were treated as encroachers by the Devasthanam 12 years ago claiming that the land belonged to it.

Representatives of several associations from the five villages, which are now under GVMC, including many women, are participating in the relay fasts.

The people while demanding the Government to solve the issue immediately, wanted rights to be bestowed on the house owners and farmers and restarting of registration of their lands. They also wanted the Devasthanam to stop the raids on house owners and farmers.

MLC M.V.S. Sarma who visited the hunger strike camp, said it was regrettable that the Government decided that the lands belonged to Devasthanam and wanted a high power committee formed to determine the right of the ownership so that the people could get a right over the land.

Source: The Hindu, DT. July 18, 2013.