Curtain Brothers locked out of land

 CURTAIN Brothers Ltd doing business on land portion 2399(d) Granville was told by landowners to immediately vacate the land as its lease contract had expired.

Members of the Geakone clan of Hanuabada, who are legitimate landowners of land portion 2399(d) situated along the Poreporena Freeway (Burns Peak), said that they want the company out of their customary land as it is illegally occupying it.

Clan chief Dirona Lohia said that in the 1995 contract, Curtain Brothers was supposed to lease the land for a period of three years only, however, the company overstayed its invitation.

“We will lock the gate and want Curtain Brothers to come and immediately remove all its properties from our land,” Lohia said.

He said the land was not purchased from them, it was only leased as the company needed a place to keep its machinery, logistics and workers when they were contracted by the government to build the freeway. 

The landowners also wanted to know why the Lands Department had converted their land into a new portion named 2585 Granville without consulting them. 

Lohia said the protest was sparked by an earlier protest by another landowner group from the same area and was reported yesterday in The National.

The Mavara Idiba clan protested the land opposite the Curtain Brothers premises on the other side of the freeway claiming that developer, Garamut Enterprise Ltd, was trespassing by acquiring an extra 5ha of the Idiba  land. 

Meanwhile, Curtain Brothers general manager Justine McGana, said the land where their property is located is land portion 2580 and the title was obtained by his company from the state through its agent the National Lands Board. 

McGana directed the landowners to the state to sort out the matter as the title was issued by the state and not anyone else.