KOCHI: The tribal families from Arakappu settlement, who were evicted from the Vaishali cave area by the forest department on July 6, staged a sit-in protest in front of the Ernakulam collectorate demanding rehabilitation on Thursday. The group of 12 tribal families, including 11 women and 12 children, were provided temporary accommodation at the tribal hostel at Idamalayar on July 7, soon after the eviction.
However, as there was no decision on their rehabilitation even after four weeks, the families arrived in Ernakulam and staged the protest.
UDF district convener Shibu Thekkumpuram inaugurated the protest. Adivasi Aikya Vedi president Chitra Nilambur, general secretary Binu Puthenpurakkal, joint secretary P K Prakash and leader of the tribe Thankappan Panchan spoke on the occasion. The tribal leaders also submitted a memorandum to the collector.
“The collector asked us to return to Arakappu and promised to provide basic amenities at the colony. However, the families are not willing to return to the colony, as there have been repeated landslides in the area since the 2018 floods. We will submit a memorandum to SC/ST Welfare Minister K Radhakrishnan on Friday,” said Binu.