Land alloted for high school in this TN village is being encroached on to build temple

Residents of Udaiyanatham village in Vikravandi taluk in Tamil Nadu has demanded the removal of encroachments on the site proposed for a government high school in the village.

G Chandrasekhar, Udaiyanatham panchayat president told TNIE, "In 2020, we requested for a high school in our village and Chief Minister MK Stalin approved it. Subsequently, taluk officers allotted a plot of 2.5 acres for the high school in December last year and said that the encroachments on the plot must be cleared. Hence, we arranged earthmovers to remove the encroachments." However, two residents used their political influence to encroach on the area under the pretext of building a temple, alleged Chandrasekhar.

K Rekha, the parent of a Class VIII student, said, "Building a high school is more important than a temple as our children have to now travel over five kilometres to a high school in another village. This is also one of the reasons why many stop sending their daughters to school. We demand revenue officers and the district education department to take cognisance of the case and bring the school to our village at the earliest." District Collector D Mohn told TNIE that the issue would be resolved at the earliest.