ESZ protesters to face non-bailable charges

Thiruvananthapuram: The authorities intend to stifle the growing protests against the Ecologically Sensitive Areas (buffer zone) by taking strict legal action. The police have begun to register cases under tough sections of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) against agitators.

The same sections of the law that were imposed against the SilverLine agitators could be used against buffer zone protesters too.

In the Erumeli Panchayat, which is on the eastern border of Kottayam district, cases have been registered against 90 persons, including two members of the civic body. Charges under non-bailable sections have been slapped against many persons. Charges under sections pertaining to the destruction of public property and unlawful assembly have also been imposed. Notices have been issued to six persons, including panchayat members. Those against whom cases have been registered are attempting to obtain anticipatory bail.

The drastic move follows Intelligence reports about the likelihood of strong protests being launched against the government. The police top brass is of the opinion that arrests should be avoided for the time being.

Complaints bounce
Several emails sent to the Forest Department complaining about the anomalies in draft map of the buffer zone have bounced. The problem arose due to an error in the email address given by the Public Relations Department (PRD) for registering complaints. The correct one is esz.forest@kerala.gov.in. This was given in the proforma attached to the map for filing complaint, but the PRD notice stated that complaints should be sent to the address: eszforest@kerala.gov.in. All those who sent complaints to the latter email address without the first dot (.) bounced reasoning that it was an ivalid address.

The Forest Department claimed that the correct email ID had been given to the PRD for publication. After complaints were raised against it, the erroneous ID was corrected and published on the government website.

Earlier, the Gmail ID that was given for registering complaints faced continuous glitches owing to the flood of email messages. The Forest Department has said that complaints received onn the Gmail ID too would be taken up for consideration.

The Kerala Government recently published a draft map demarcating buffer zones around 22 wildlife sanctuaries but complaints over “inclusions and omissions” are pouring in. In the map, the proposed ESZ suggested by the Wildlife Department are shown as green lines inside red. Wildlife sanctuaries are shown as pink and panchayat borders with black line. The map has been prepared on the basis of a satellite survey by the State Government to claim relaxation for the apex court mandate to set up a one-kilometre buffer zone around forests.