Tension prevailed in Muttathuvayal village near Isha Yoga Centre here as villagers erected marking poles on the 44.30-acre land on Tuesday, claiming it was encroached by the Centre.

More than 1,500 villagers and tribals, who staged a demonstration, claimed that the land belonging to a Muthusamy was distributed to 46 families in the village by local authorities under the Urban Land Ceiling Act after it was declared as excess land.

“However, the Foundation had reportedly bought the land using fake documents, after which the tribals lived in small plots,” said a protester. They further alleged that they have been requesting the administration to give them proper patta documents for the land.

The protesters also staged a road roko in the area. Revenue Divisional Officer S Madurandhagi, District Superintendent of Police, R V Ramya Bharathi and other local authorities arrived at the spot and held talks with the locals.

The local authorities assured the protesters that the documents will be verified and required action would be taken against the perpetrators.