On July 12th, the tribals of Udumalpet in Tirupur district held a sit-in protest in front of the Udumalpet forest department office to demand the implementation of the Udumalai Forest Department and the Forest Rights Act, 2006. The strike was called off after the meeting of the District Forest Rights Committee was held at the Collectorate under the chairmanship of District Collector Christuraj.
Tirupur: On July 12, the tribals in Udumalpet, Tirupur district, began a sit-in protest outside the office of the Udumalpet Forest Department, demanding the implementation of the Udumalai Forest Department and the Forest Rights Act, 2006, for not approving the construction of a road from Thirumoorthy malai to Gurumalai.
The tribals continued to protest for the third day as no agreement was reached in several rounds of talks with the authorities.
In the meanwhile, District Collector Christuraj presided over a meeting of the District Forest Rights Committee at the Collectorate. Tribal activists, representatives from the forest department, the district's Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Officer, and representatives from the district's revenue department all attended the meeting. The strike was called off after the government approved the construction of a 5.37-km-long road from Thirumoorthymalai to Gurumalai settlement.
Later, in the area where the protest was held, the tribals distributed sweets and danced to play traditional musical instruments and expressed their happiness. Later, congratulations were given to the rain-fed people who had greatly helped in the waiting struggle.
In Udumalpet, the tribals are overjoyed as their long struggle has been successful.