Naxals take over Kerala tribal colony

When contacted, Superintendent of Police A Hemachandran said that the district police was aware of the situation. However, the police does not take any action partly because there was no immediate law and order issue and partly because the area is under the control and jurisdiction of the forest department. Usually the police interferes in matters concerning the forest department when the police assistance is requested by the forest officials.

The SP said that recently he had taken up the matter with Commissioner for Scheduled Tribe Murthy during his recent visit to Thrissur. According to the SP, the tribals fall prey to extremist groups mainly because of poverty and if adequate measures for the welfare of tribals are taken, they can be prevented from turning to the extremists.

All the attempts by the State forest department officials to enter the colony in the past one decade were infructuous due to the resistance of the colony residents. Brainwashedby the extremists, who keep a roving eye over the colony, the residents are firm in their belief that by birth the tribals acquired the right of the forest land and that the civilised men or Government officials entering the area are trespassers.

The officials who attempt to enter the colony are physically prevented by the men, women and children present in the settlement by creating a cordon around them. The officials are then warned against any attempt to break the cordon and advised to go back. The officials trying to talk to the members of the colony are clearly advised to talk to the leaders’.

Owing to the inaccessibility of the colony for over a decade, the forest department is in the dark now about the developments in the colony. There are unconfirmed reports that the colony coming under the Peechi Wildlife Sanctuary is now a major training centre for the extremists, and that members of the group from other parts of the State and places like Warangal and Khammam in Andhra Pradesh often visit thecolony for imparting training and study classes.

According to a top forest official, the department does not have an account of the wildlife or trees, standing or fallen, inside the area at present.Although forest officials are aware that if no steps are taken the area under the colony will expand further in the coming years and that the cover provided to extremists by the colony would be a major threat to civil life in this part of the State. But under the existing rules, forest officials could not be more than helpless spectators to the situation.

According to official records, some tribals from the Payyanam tribal colony had migrated to Thamaravallachal after 1977. Subsequently, a few families belonging to Kavara community also joined them. The official assessment of the number of families in the colony was about 30 in 1984-85.

Since then the area and population of the colony had gone up significantly and as per rough estimates, the Thamaravallachal colony now has about 500 men, women and childrenliving in misery, poverty and illiteracy.

As per the existing laws, the State Government cannot allocate the forest land encroached upon since January 1, l977 to the encroachers. It cannot even demarcate the boundaries of land under the possession of encroachers since January 1, l977 as it would amount to granting permission to the encroachers to occupy the forest land under their unauthorised possession.