Palakkad: The office holders of the Plachimada protest committee and the Plachimada Solidarity Committee alleged that the Coca-Cola company was allowed to hand over the land in Plachimada to the government without a decision on the issue of compensation for the losses the tribals incurred. 

The move of handing over 35 acres of land and buildings owned by Coca-Cola company to the state government is objectionable. Plachimada protest committee chairman Vilayodi Venugopal, Vice President M Thangavelu, and others demanded that the government should step back from taking over the property that is supposed to be collateral for compensation even as the issue remains unresolved. 

Meanwhile, Minister K Krishnankutty maintained that there is no connection between offering compensation to victims of Plachimada and the transfer of land by the Coca-cola company. “Do they mean to say that the government should have refused when the land was handed over? The project that will be implemented on the acquired land will be done in a way to benefit the people, including the tribals of the region. Employment for one person from a family, pension for the ailing, etc will be offered. The plan is in the initial stages, the minister said while adding that he has no objections to the protests at his doorstep.