CPM calls for hartal in Idukki on Friday over ESA, Collector's orders
The CPI(M) has called a 12-hour hartal in Idukki opposing Environmentally Sensitive Area directives and district collector orders, demanding rectification of government recommendations and the withdrawal of what it termed 'anti-people' measures.
The CPI(M) has called a 12-hour hartal in Idukki opposing Environmentally Sensitive Area directives and district collector orders, demanding rectification of government recommendations and the withdrawal of what it termed 'anti-people' measures.
The CPI(M) has called a 12-hour hartal in Idukki opposing Environmentally Sensitive Area directives and district collector orders, demanding rectification of government recommendations and the withdrawal of what it termed 'anti-people' measures.
Idukki: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) has called for a 12-hour hartal in Idukki district on Friday in protest against the Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) directives and controversial orders issued by the District Collector. The strike will be observed from 6 am to 6 pm, CPM District Secretary C V Varghese said.
The party's key demands include rectifying what it called errors in the state government's recommendations submitted to the Centre regarding the ESA, releasing the cadastral map, and identifying alleged secret moves to reclassify Cardamom Hill Reserve (CHR) lands as forest area.
The District Secretary alleged that in the earlier UDF government's ESA proposals, the CHR was presented as a unified plantation landscape. He raised concerns that this was part of a deliberate move to convert the CHR area into forest land.
Additionally, the strike will highlight strong opposition to recent measures taken by the Collector, including an order issued last month regarding the restoration of elephant corridors and a letter recommending a ban on night travel through plantation areas along forest borders. The party has demanded the immediate withdrawal of these "anti-people" directives, alleging that the Collector's order and letter were part of a UDF conspiracy.
Exempted services & activities
Essential services and specific events have been exempted from the hartal. According to a press release from Varghese, hospitals, milk supply, and newspaper distribution will be exempted.
Vehicles transporting students for the Higher Secondary Improvement examinations, participants of the Nedumkandam sports meet, PRDS vehicles travelling for the 200th anniversary celebrations of the abolition of the slave trade, as well as tourist vehicles arriving from outside the district, have also been exempted.