Members of the Lakshadweep district panchayat and the village (dweep) panchayat in Kavaratti on Saturday removed red flags said to have been posted by the authorities to delineate several plots of land in the southern part of the island.
A panchayat member said they protested what they termed ‘land encroachment’ by the administration. “The authorities had put up red flags in several areas which led to protests following which flags were removed from some of them. We removed the remaining today [on Saturday],” he said.
Lakshadweep Administrator Praful Khoda Patel ended his short sojourn to the island group on Saturday. The islanders, united under the Save Lakshadweep Forum, protested ahead of his return on Friday night by observing a power blackout. They also banged plates and utensils to register their protest against the ‘unwelcome’ reforms being pushed by the administration.
