Kadakkal: Several landless families here in the Kollam district of Kerala are set to be awarded own plots, all thanks to the munificence of a Tamil man who made a living selling peanuts in this historic town for decades.
Abdullah, alias Mani, is all set to give it back to the society that helped him prosper. In all 87 families would benefit from his goodwill gesture.
Abdullah has bought one acre of land for distribution among the landless. He had to shell out Rs 10 lakh to buy the land at Kottapuram. The land records would be handed over to the village panchayat during an event, which would be attended by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
The panchayat would build flats under the Life Mission Project.
A native of Puliyankudi in the neighbouring state, Abdullah had arrived in Kadakkal in 1982. First, he found a job at a shop selling peanuts. He even went around the town and sold peanuts from a pull cart. As he thrived, he managed to set up his own shop at the junction.
Abdullah informed panchayat president R S Biju that he wanted to help some people with this land. The panchayat has listed 125 landless families in its jurisdiction.
Kadakkal is 50 km from the Tamil Nadu border and Kollam town in Kerala. Historically it has been a prominent trade centre and had witnessed significant agitation during India's freedom struggle.