ESZ: SWF takes out march in Wayanad
The Hindu
Dharna staged at collectorate; slew of demands raised
Hundreds of people under the aegis of Save Wayanad forum (SWF), a joint initiative of the Wayanad Chamber of Commerce and Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi (KVVES) district committee, took out a march and staged a dharna in front of the Wayanad collectorate here on Monday raising a slew of demands including a quick intervention by the Union and State governments against the recent Supreme Court order on Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZ).
Speaking after inaugurating the march, Wayanad district panchayat president Samshad Marakkar said that the order had cast a cloud over the lives of hundreds of families, especially the ones living on the fringes of the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary.
“However, the judgment makes provision for the dilution of the minimum width of the ESZ in overwhelming public interest and allows the State government to approach the Central Empowered Committee and the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change,” Mr. Marakkar said.
Hence, he said that governments should act quickly to address the issue. “Moreover, they must assuage the anxiety of the public, and consider the possibility of creating legislations to overcome the crisis,” he said.
The protesters also raised demands such as adopting steps to segregate human habitats and forests; revoking restrictions on construction activities on behalf of environmental conservation; exempting habitats and trading centres from ESZ; repealing restrictions on land assignment and Wayanad colonisation scheme. SWF district chairman K.K. Vasudevan presided.
A crowd comprising farmers, researchers, professors, students, and horticulture enthusiasts thronged the ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Hesaraghatta, Bengaluru, on Friday for the inaugural ceremony of the Triphal Diversity Show which showcased 300 mango, 100 jackfruit, and 100 banana genotypes in collaboration with ICAR-National Research Centre for Banana, Tiruchirappalli.
The State government on Friday constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by Additional Director-General of Police, Manish Kharbikar of the Economic Offences division of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to probe the alleged multi-crore scam in the government-run Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation.