At the heart of a labyrinth of issues emerging as major talking points in the Wayanad parliamentary constituency, where CPI's Annie Raja is challenging Congress leader and sitting MP Rahul Gandhi, is the human-animal conflict.
Loss of human lives, besides loss of property and crops in wild animal attacks has caused much anguish, anger and pain among the locals. How can this issue be addressed?
In a telephonic conversation with The New Indian Express, Annie Raja acknowledged that the human-animal conflict is happening frequently in Wayanad.
She said that as a native of Aralam near Wayanad she knows the anguish and pain of the people well.
The CPI candidate for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls said that she is meeting people and listening to what they have to say about preventing human deaths and destruction of properties and crops in wild animal attacks.
"The CPI (M) -led LDF government has done well to declare the human-animal conflict a state-specific disaster," Annie Raja noted.
Moreover, the Kerala government has also held dialogues with the neighbouring states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Among a slew of measures taken during the dialogues was the formation of a committee comprising Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu officials to mitigate the conflict, she pointed out.
Further, Annie Raja said that the Kerala government has been demanding that the Centre amend the Wildlife Protection Act so as to, among other things, permit hunting or killing of wild animals that become dangerous to human life. This is necessary, she felt.
It may be noted that on March 11, Kerala Karshakasangham took out a march to the AGs office and staged a dharna under the aegis of the Samyuktha Kisan Morcha to demand that the Centre amend the Wildlife Protection Act to save human lives.
Annie Raja, meanwhile, reminded that the human-animal conflict does not pertain to Wayanad or Kerala alone. "It's a national issue. Hence, all stakeholders have to sit together and chalk out a solution."
"We've to take into consideration the broader picture -- climate change, loss of habitats etc -- while addressing the issue," Annie Raja noted.
"There is no quick-fix solution. Say, it's not kind of wielding a magic wand to find a solution overnight. It will take time," she added.
When she talks about finding a holistic solition to the issue, she means, what kind of crops can be raised so that they are not raided by the animals, how to address the problem of animals straying out of the forests in search of food and water, etc.
Annie Raja also said steps should be taken so as to ensure that the inter-state night traffic ban on NH-766 (Kozhikode-Kollegal National Highway which passes through Bandipur Tiger Reserve) is lifted.
"The local economy is hit by the ban. The Centre suffers a huge loss (GST) because of this," Annie Raja points out.
Meanwhile, amid the loss of several human lives including that of one Ajeesh in Wayanad in February 2024, the Malayalam magazine Madhyamam had human-animal conflict as its cover story in its March 11-18, 2024 issue. The editorial headlined, Kaadu, Jeevitham Manushayar (Forest, Life, Humans) underlined the need for finding a scientific solution to the issue.
Annie Raja, who has been part of the law-making process in different capacities outside the parliament -- by way of campaigning, lobbying with MPs, ministers, meeting bureaucrats etc -- said that this experience gives her confidence in addressing the human-animal conflict in Wayanad parliamentary constituency.
She recalled: "We had arranged a meeting of a delegation of Bishops from Kerala with the Prime Minister to discuss the human-animal conflict in 2015. At the time I hardly imagined I will be contesting an election from Wayanad."
Nine years later, here she is...
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