Members of the Ganapathy Maanagar Veettu Urimaiyalar Nalah Paathukappu Sangam staging a blindfold protest at the Coimbatore Collectorate on Monday.

| Photo Credit: SIVA SARAVANAN S

The Ganapathy Maanagar Veettu Urimaiyalar Nalah Paathukappu Sangam has announced a hunger strike, seeking a resolution to the 33-year-old issue faced by Coimbatore Housing Board allottees.They have urged the government to issue an order immediately fixing the revised final land price at ₹6,000 per cent for 31.98 acres and ₹200 per cent for 33.34 acres, in accordance with the Supreme Court and arbitration tribunal verdicts. They have also sought the issue of sale deeds to allottees who have not received them so far.They have further demanded a refund, with six per cent interest, of the additional amount allegedly collected illegally and sought the removal of interest imposed due to an error in the ‘FoxPro’ software.They have also urged the government to take up the issue suo motu during the Assembly’s grants debate on August 28 and constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to inquire into the alleged wastage of public funds due to faulty planning.The Sangam has warned of a one-day token hunger strike, followed by an indefinite hunger strike, if its demands are not met.Restoration of Panchami landSeparately, more than 100 people from six localities in Mettupalayam sought free house-site pattas and restoration of Panchami land on Monday, alleging that repeated petitions over the past five to six years had yielded no action.Residents from Venmani Nagar, Ukka Nagar, Nadur, Kumarapuram, Sankar Nagar and Jeeva Nagar submitted a petition to the Coimbatore District Collector on Monday, during the weekly grievances redress meeting at the Collectorate.The petitioners were coordinated by N. Nagaraj, district organiser, and Padmanabhan, district secretary, of the Saathi Ozhippu Viduthalai Munnani.Speaking to reporters, Mr. Padmanabhan said several families lived in cramped conditions, with some having only half a cent or three-fourths of a cent of land.Many landless families were living in rented houses and struggling to support their families, he said.Most residents were Dalits, and one of their key demands was the recovery and redistribution of Panchami land in Mettupalayam to eligible landless people, he said. Published - August 24, 2026 07:20 pm IST