KOTTAYAM: Anguished over the lapses in satellite survey that failed to mark the human habitations in their area, the residents of Angel Valley and Pampa Valley wards of Erumely panchayat took out a march to the Ezhukumannu forest station on Friday morning.
The protesters led by People’s Agitation Council pulled out the name board of the forest station, smeared black oil on it and set it on fire. The residents are also planning to take out a march to the Erumeli panchayat office in the afternoon stating the panchayat failed miserably in taking steps to
protect their land.
Earlier, the satellite survey conducted by the government to determine populated areas in the buffer zone of Periyar Tiger Reserve had marked had included Angel Valley and Pampa Valley wards in the forest area. As many as 5000 people from 1200 families are presently living here. There are eight shrines, one CBSE
school, one health centre and four Anganwadis here.
Angel Valley and Pampavalley areas share borders with Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) that extends from Mookkenpetty causeway to Kanamala bridge. Human settlements commenced here as part of the ‘Grow More Food’ scheme of the government, which was launched to address food scarcity in the post World War II scenario during 1947-48. The land was allocated to former defence personnel shortly after the Second World War and their descendants are presently living here.
A majority of residents are farmers and they have been facing grave threats to their livelihood due to attacks by wild animals for several years.