Even as the Centre appeared to be working on a decision on the demand for withdrawal of the November 13 order implementing the Kasturirangan commission recommendations, the Opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) has called a dawn-to-dusk hartal in Idukki and Wayanad districts and different parts of Kottayam, Malappuram, Kozhikode, and Kannur districts on Saturday.
Front district convener C.K. Krishnan Kutty told reporters at Kattappana on Friday that the LDF had decided to call the hartal to protest against the ‘lackadaisical’ attitude of the Central and State governments on exempting the densely populated 47 villages in the district from the Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESAs) mentioned in the K. Kasturirangan report.
Announcing the LDF’s hartal decision in Wayanad district, CPI(M) district secretary C.K. Saseedran said at Kalpetta that the Kasturirangan committee recommendations would hurt people living in 121 villages in the State.
In Kottayam, LDF district convener M.T. Joseph said the alliance would observe hartal at Poonjar, Thekkekara, Melukavu, Teekoy and Koottickal villages, which have been categorised as ESAs by the Kasturirangan committee.
In Kannur, the hartal is being observed at Kelakam and Kottiyoor villages.
In Malappuram, the hartal will be observed in Ernad, Wandoor and Nilambur taluks.
