Forest Department accused of foisting false cases on protesting farmers in Kozhikode
The Hindu
Stir organised against alleged apathy of officials in addressing wild elephant menace in Chakkittappara panchayat
We Farm, a collective of hillside settler farmers, has accused the Forest Department of foisting false cases on those who recently took part in a protest against the officials for their alleged apathy in addressing the wild elephant menace in Chakkittappara panchayat. The association leaders said the farmers took part in the protest as they were scared to live on their own land amid frequent raids by wild elephants. The farmers had recently lost crops worth ₹40 lakh, they said. We Farm functionaries claimed that a Range Officer was behind the attempt to implicate the farmers in fabricated cases. The leaders called upon the Kozhikode Divisional Forest Officer and other senior officers to withdraw the cases. They also threatened to go ahead with indefinite protest again in case of any hostile action against the protesters.The election authorities are gearing up for the counting of votes cast in the simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, scheduled to be held on June 4. The Collectors and Election Officers of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) districts said on May 23 (Thursday) that their teams were ready for the counting of votes.
Responding to the prolonged water scarcity, the residents of the area took to the streets in protest on Wednesday. The protest, which drew attention to their plight, stopped only after the intervention of the police. It was not until 1.30 p.m. that a 4000-litre tanker was finally delivered by BWSSB, providing relief to the water-starved residents.