by Santosh Digal

A group of displaced people from Betticala village has been resettled in Nandagiri, where the Mass was performed. The land on which they built their chapel belongs to the government. A local Church committee has called for a title deed to be issued concerning the ownership of the land where the chapel now stands.

Bhubaneswar (AsiaNews) – Three years after anti-Christian pogroms hit Kandhamal, a group of Christians from Betticala celebrated their first Mass in Nandagiri village, where they now live. The service on Sunday was a “source of joy for us all”, said Brother Markose K.J., who helped Christian refugees resettle. However, the situation remains unstable because the community does not own the land where they built their chapel. At the same time, Hindus from Betticala have not allowed Christian residents to return to reclaim their homes and land after anti-Christian violence struck in Kandhamal in August 2008.

Land remains a problem. There are no laws that would allow the district administration to allocate land for a church. Most land is government-owned, so none is available for a place of worship.

A local Church committee has nonetheless applied for a ‘patta’ or title deed to the land where a Catholic chapel is under construction.

“Due to our dedication and advocacy, 18 victims from the villages of Nandagiri, Bodimunda and Beladadi met the district collector. Three Christians also spoke with the local police superintendant,” Br Markose said.

Their demands for housing and land and those of others displaced people were forwarded to the Block Development Office (BDO) in G. Udayagiri.

Four families from Beladadi village, who received two compensation instalments to rebuild their homes, were denied a third (final) instalment by the BDO of Tikabali.

Brother Markose is certain that these families’ request will be met.

• india
• orissa
• kandhamal
• anti-christian
• pogroms
• displaced
• people
• betticala
• nandagiri
• patta
• title
• deed