Attappady to erect human wall against ESA, ESZ
The Attappady Zone Farmer Protection Council will organise a human wall on Sunday afternoon at Attappady to protest against the Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) and Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) notifications of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
About 60,000 farmers are expected to attend the human wall that will stretch from Mukkali to Anakkatti on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border in Attappady.
The 37-km human wall would be formed at 3.30 p.m., said council president Sreelakshmi Sreekumar and secretary Johnson Vilangupara.
They said that they had no way but to protest against ESA and ESZ notifications, as they would virtually convert Attappady into a forest. Farmers from Agali, Sholayur and Pudur panchayats of Attappady would join the protest irrespective of their political affiliations, they said.
They said that the farmers would be forced to evacuate their land if the ESA and ESZ notifications came into force.
Fifty children from the Adivasi hamlets of Attappady would inaugurate the human wall by taking a pledge to protect their rights. The organisers said that political leaders of Palakkad would also join the protest.
