Farmers lock horns with HR&CE Dept. over alleged encroachment of temple lands in Sulur

Have pattas for the identified 23 acres, they say at meeting with officials

With the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department identifying around 23 acres of allegedly encroached temple lands in Sulur, the farmers who were identified as encroachers denied any encroachment during a meeting with the officials here on Tuesday. Sources in the HR&CE Department said that nine farmers in Sulur taluk were identified to have encroached on around 23 acres that belonged to Mandhiragiri Velayudha Swamy Temple in Thencherimalai. The officials had issued notices to the alleged encroachers earlier this year, asking them to hand over the land to the HR&CE Department. They, however, refused to do so by claiming that they had pattas and were not encroaching on the land.