Harassed, seven families leave ancestral village

PALANPUR: About 40 people including women and children of Patel families bid adieu to their ancestral Kasalpura village, some 20 km from Mehsana on Wednesday morning, complaining of inaction by authorities against the anti-social elements.
Some Patel families have been at loggerheads with the dominant Thakore community for the past eight months. The families alleged that they were fed up of illegal activities by some members like brewing and consuming liquor as well as gambling near the schools. The stand-off only turned bitter on February 11 when people of both communities clashed over the issue.
"We have left the standing crop, houses and compromised on our children's education," said Baldeo Patel, whose two family members were injured in the clash.
Mehsana collector Rajkumar Beniwal told TOI: "These families had approached us about few months back. It is a long-standing internal feud between some families of two communities." Beniwal admitted that there are some anti-social elements in the village but said that authorities are doing their level best to ensure peace.
Village sarpanch Geeta Patel said that the ongoing quarrel between a section of Patels and Thakores as their personal matter.