Lakshadweep homes turn into ‘protest camps’

KOCHI: Porticos of homes across Lakshadweep turned into “protest camps” on Monday as almost the entire population of the archipelago joined a 6am-to-6pm hunger strike in response to a call from the Save Lakshadweep Forum (SLF) that is spearheading the agitation against administrator Praful K Patel’s policies.
While the islanders stayed put in their homes in keeping with Covid protocol, their protest grabbed eyeballs far beyond the archipelago as images of families holding placards and banners with slogans such as “Understand Lakshadweep”, “Land owners not tenants”, “Call back administrator” and “Revoke orders against Lakshadweep” were widely shared on social media. Ten UDF MPs from Kerala protested outside the Lakshadweep administration’s office in Kochi.
Shops in Lakshadweep remained shut and vehicles stayed off the road through the day as trader unions and auto drivers extended support to the hunger strike. Other than an argument with the police over Kavaratti village dweep panchayat members staging a dharna outside VDP office, there were no untoward incidents.