A joint action committee of upland farmers will take out a march to the Thamarassery Forest Range Officer’s house on Saturday with a call to end the “hostile approach” of the Forest department towards settler farmers.
The action committee leaders alleged that the cold approach of a few officials at the range office was preventing even the timely sanctioning of eligible compensation for farmers who fell victim to wild animal attacks. “There were even incidents in which the farmers were implicated in false cases. Even elderly persons were not spared in such incidents,” said one of the coordinators of the joint action committee. He also complained that there were suspected attempts by the officials to suppress protesters by entangling them in fabricated cases.
According to action committee leaders, the march will draw the participation of various farmers’ organisations like Rashtriya Kisan Maha Sangh, We Farm, and Samyuktha Karshaka Samiti. They said it would be a token protest to draw the attention of senior officers to the looming concerns.
