Traditional folk musicians playing melam and nagaswaram instruments marched to the Sivaganga District Collectorate on Monday, protesting against a 30-year administrative delay in handing over residential land promised by the State government to them.

The demonstration, organised by the Thirupuvanam Sri Poomariamman Rural Artists Naiyandi Melakkaran Welfare Association, highlighted the plight of traditional artist families in Thirupuvanam who hold official house site land titles issued in 1996 but have never received physical possession of the plots.

In 1996, the Adi Dravidar Welfare Department allotted three acres of land in the Nelmudikkara area near Thirupuvanam to benefit 33 local folk artist families.

Though the government issued free house site pattas, revenue authorities failed to mark out and hand over the corresponding physical land over the subsequent three decades, they complained.

Despite submitting numerous petitions to district officials over the years, the artist community said that no concrete steps have been taken to resolve the issue.

The association pointed out that the community has expanded significantly since the original allotment, with over 100 musician families currently residing in the Thirupuvanam region.

They petitioned the administration to allot house site pattas to all eligible families within a 3.5-acre parcel of land located in the nearby Panayanenthal area to accommodate the growing population of artists.

Published - July 21, 2026 08:42 pm IST