A fresh bout of confusion over the implementation of Kasturirangan Report on Western Ghat Conservation appears to have given political parties in the Central Travancore belt yet another opportunity to demonstrate their pro-farmer disposition.
In the forefront are the two Kerala Congress factions led by K.M. Mani and Francis George respectively, but not to be out smarted, the Congress too have tossed their hat in the ring.
The KC(M) has deputed its MLA from Idukki Roshy Augustine on a ‘padhayatra’ to Thiruvananthapuram. The yatra was flagged off by party chairman K.M. Mani on Sunday from 35th Mile near Kottayam-Idukki border.
The six-day yatra, which culminates in Thiruvananthapuram on March 3, will take up issues, including the implementation of the report with amendment made by the Oommen V. Oommen committee which had cleared much of the Ghat stretches in the State from the ecologically sensitive area (ESA) status and intervention of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to get the report implemented in a manner beneficial to the farming community.
The yatra will take a route which will be most affected by the implementation of the report. From Mundakkayam it will move to Erumeli and enter Pathanamthitta district at Ranni and take the route via Konni, Pathanapuram, Punalur, Ayoor, Kilimanoor, Vembayam, and Nalanchira.
On day six, the yatra will commence from Kesavadasapuram to reach the Secretariat. The yatra will be followed by a district-level hartal in Idukki on March 6. The UDF is also expected to lend their support to the hartal.
Meanwhile, the KC(Democratic) aligned with the LDF has seen this as an opportunity to mope up their support base after their total rout in the last Assembly elections when all their candidates tasted defeat in the party’s perceived strongholds.
They will hold a march and dharna in the 12 affected districts on March 1, according to chairman Francis George. This will be followed by a ‘Malayora Karshaka Jatha’ from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram.
In a related development, the Congress has called for a hartal in the four panchayats in Kottayam district on March 6, the day KC(M) had called for a hartal in Idukki, on the same issue. The hartal will cover Poonjar, Kootickal, Melucavu, and Teekoy grama panchayats. The decision was taken by Kottayam DCC.
The draft notification by the Central authorities slapping ESA status to 4,156 villages in the Western Ghats had been issued on November 13, 2013. This included 123 villages from 12 districts in the State. The second draft notification in this regard was declared on September 4, 2015.
