United Democratic Front (UDF) legislators took out a protest march to Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran official residence on Tuesday, demanding his resignation for the alleged failure of the Forest department in preventing human-animal conflicts in the State.
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan, who inaugurated the demonstration, faulted the government for turning a blind eye towards the increasing prevalence of wildlife incursions into human habitations. As many as 85 people have been killed by wild animals during the last nine months.
He also claimed around 7,000 victims of wildlife attacks, including the families of the deceased, awaited compensation. Moreover, people who have been residing on forest fringes are unable to cultivate plants due to the evolving crisis. The problem has affected their livelihoods.
The Congress leader was also critical of the “inadequate” allocation of ₹48 crore in the State Budget to deal with human-animal conflicts.
Deputy Leader of Opposition P.K. Kunhalikutty, and other UDF MLAs, including Sunny Joseph, Sajeev Joseph, T. Siddique, I.C. Balakrishnan, A.P. Anil Kumar, Najeeb Kanthapuram, N. Shamsudeen, Shafi Parambil and T.J. Saneesh Kumar Joseph, also participated in the demonstration.
