Tribal organisations in Wayanad have sought the intervention of the Chief Ministers of Karnataka and Kerala to stop the alleged exploitation of workers from Wayanad in Karnataka’s coffee and ginger farms.
An action committee constituted under the aegis of the Adivasi Kshema Samithi (AKS), a tribal outfit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], urged the governments to probe the “unnatural deaths” of tribal workers from the district on coffee and ginger plantations in Karnataka, especially in Coorg district. Former MLA and action committee chairman C.K. Saseendran said the members of the organisation would meet Kerala and Karnataka Chief Ministers along with the kin of the deceased workers soon and submit their grievances.
A petition would be filed before the Karnataka High Court seeking an investigation into the “unnatural deaths and atrocities” against tribal workers, he added.
A habeas corpus petition would also be filed in the Kerala High Court to find out Vasu, a tribal worker from the Golur tribal hamlet in Noolpuzha in the district, who had gone missing in Karnataka, he said.
Many a time, women and children were subjected to sexual exploitation and torture, he alleged.
