Anti-sand mining activist V Jazeera has begun sit-in in front of the house of industrialist Kochouseph Chittilappily here demanding cash reward of Rs five lakh, which he offered earlier to express his solidarity with the strike.
Jazeera, who returned from Delhi yesterday with her three children after ending the four-month sit-in at Jantar Mantar demanding action against sand miners in her home village in Kannur district, began the dharna before his house in Edapally demanding the promised amount.
Meanwhile, Chittilappily told a press meet here today that he had not denied the prize money to Jazeera and her agitation was a "politically-motivated.
"I am sticking to my earlier stand that the reward amount will be deposited in a bank in the name of her three childen. Her present strike was a politically-motivated one. It is not possible without the backing of a political party," Chittilappilly said.
The businessman hit headlines last month after he announced a cash award of Rs five lakh to Sandhya, a household who single-handly challenged the blockade by LDF opposition in front of the official residence of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in Thiruvananthapuram as part of their stir demanding his resignation in connection with the solar panel scam.
He had also offered Rs five lakh to Jazeera for her fight against the sand mining mafia.
However, the 31-year-old activist had said that she could not come to Kochi to receive the amount. Though the business man offered to credit the amount in a bank in the name of her children, she declined the offer.
Jazeera, hailing from Kannur in north Kerala, came into the limelight after she lodged a protest sit-in with her three children in front of the state secretariate last year seeking action against the sand mafia which allegedly ruined Neerozhukkumchal beach in her home village.
She ended her strike in Delhi last week after Chief Minister Oommen Chandy promised stern action against the illegal sand miners in the state.
