Angst was writ large among the residents of Amboori grama panchayat that observed a dawn-to-dusk hartal in protest against the regulations prescribed in the draft notification issued to declare as Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) in the areas around the Neyyar and the Peppara wildlife sanctuaries.
The residents of the leafy suburb abutting the protected areas feared the notification issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change could impact livelihoods and impede development in the locality.
The hartal was total in the panchayat with shops and other establishments remaining closed throughout the day. While the agitation remained peaceful, several vehicles that passed by the area were blocked by the protesters.
The agitation was called by an action council that includes people’s representatives belonging to both the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF). Hundreds of local residents participated in a public rally and the subsequent protest meet at the Amboori town. Parassala MLA C.K. Hareendran inaugurated the demonstration.
Prime demand
The grama panchayat, which considered itself to be the worst affected by the notification with 10 out of 13 wards coming under the proposed ESZ, has been raising the prime demand of excluding inhabited areas from the purview of regulations.
Notwithstanding efforts by the government to pacify the residents, they fear the restrictions could lead to a “phased eviction” of the local community that included many families who have settled in the region for over 50 years.
Amboori panchayat vice president Thomas Mangalasseri said the regulations could require rubber farmers to seek permission from the authorities to chop down trees for rubber wood sale and prior to replanting. Rubber cultivation accounted for nearly 90% of the agricultural activities in the panchayat.
He said no quarries, crusher units or factories operated in the agrarian region, which has lived in peaceful co-existence with the environment. Under such circumstances, there was no pressing need to increase the forest cover at the expense of human welfare.
Some residents also dreaded the possibility of the ESZ restrictions scuttling their chances of receiving title deeds for land tracts they have occupied for decades. The local community has now pinned its hopes on the meeting convened by Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran here on Friday.
