Environmentalists up in arms at Wayanad over illegal activities damaging ecologically fragile land

Thiruvananthapuram: In view of the back to back natural calamities in Wayanad, environmentalists are launching a stir demanding strict action against illegal activities in the ecologically fragile land and due compensation to the victims of natural calamities.

The Wayanad Prakrithi Samrakshana Samathi (nature protection forum) is staging a day-long stir in front of the Wayanad district collectorate on August 13 raising these demands.

The major demands being raised are to impose restriction on tourism-related activities in the district, demolish all illegal constructions in the landslide prone areas, evict private parties, including some known business groups, that have alleged encroached upon government land, take over large extent of land illegally held by plantation groups and drop the proposed tunnel road in Wayanad.

The forum also demanded that due compensation should be given to the victims of the landslide by considering proper rehabilitation as right of the victims of natural calamities.