KOCHI: Nipah virus had demonised bats and Covid-19 seems to have added to the people’s scare. Following rumours that the flying mammals are one of the biggest reservoirs of deadly viruses, a Pathanamthitta resident approached the Kerala State Human Rights Commission (KSHRC) and obtained an order to chop down four trees that harbour them!The commission on Monday ordered to axe four badam trees at Kadamankulam junction in Kallooppara panchayat in Pathanamthitta, as it found substance in complainant Saji Oommen’s argument that the bats roosting on the trees were spreading fear of infection.
Commission member
V K Beenakumari, in her order, directed Kallooppara panchayat secretary to cut down the trees within a month and submit a compliance report. A KSHRC release said Saji approached the commission complaining that the bats could spread deadly diseases like Nipah and Covid. Kallooppara panchayat secretary had submitted a report that the overhanging trees were posing a threat to the public.
However, the commission dismissed this argument. The commission observed that there was substance in the argument of the complainant that the droppings of the bats falling on his house premises posed a threat of infection to his family.Green activists, expressing anguish over the order, pointed out the bats play an essential role in ecology.
‘People are killing bats due to fear of Covid’
“Biologists have debunked the theory that bats are vectors of novel coronavirus. If you cut down one tree, the bats will roost on another. How many trees will you axe due to fear of bats? The complainant might have used the corona scare as a reason to get the trees removed,” said activist C M Joy, who is also a member of the Ernakulam district social forestry tree committee that issues sanction to cut down trees on government land.
“The spread of Nipah and Covid has made bats the villains. There were reports from states like Rajasthan that people are killing bats due to fear of infection. These are misconceptions. Cutting down trees will not help escape Covid infection,” said Kerala Biodiversity Board former chairman V S Vijayan. Patna High Court former chief justice J B Koshy, who is a former KSHRC chairman, said the commission has the right to pass an order on anything that affects human life.“The commission would have sought reports from the parties concerned and experts before passing the order,” he said.