Tribespeople in Edamalakkudy launch open protest, plant banana plant on road

Tribespeople in Edamalakkudy, the first tribal panchayat in Kerala, have begun an open protest against the poor condition of the road connecting the panchayat with the outer world.

The Muthuvan Adivasi Samudaya Sangam, an organisation representing the Muthuvan tribal community, conducted a protest near Societykudy in Edamalakkudy on Tuesday, demanding that the road concreting works in the settlement be completed immediately. Sangam area president Sreekrishnan and secretary Sarath led the protest.

The protesters planted a banana plant in a pothole in the middle of the road, claiming that the lack of proper road connectivity had resulted in two fatalities and prevented the residents from accessing the outside world. The Public Works Department (PWD) road division failed to complete the road construction works. A total of ₹11.5 crore was allocated for the the Pettimudy-Edaliparakudy road construction and work began in 2023. Then it was announced that the work would be completed by December 2024. The protesters claimed that the road construction had remained suspended for the past year.

The protesters also sought the construction of another road connecting Koodallarkudy and Anakkulam in Mankulam.

Increasing unrest

The Special Branch of the police have reported about the increasing unrest among the tribespeople and called for immediate intervention to address the issues.

First phase

Devikulam MLA A. Raja said that a recent monitoring committee meeting of the Edamalakkudy panchayat had decided to complete the first phase of the road construction work from Pettimudy to Edaliparakudy within one and a half months. “Out of 7 km, the construction work on 5 km up to Keppakkad has already been completed and ₹5 crore has been allocated for work from Edaliparakudy to Societykudy. The government will hand over the work to a contracting agency soon,” said Mr. Raja.

“Reports indicate that the number of fever cases in the settlement is increasing, so a special medical camp will be conducted there. The first medical camp was held on Tuesday,” said Mr. Raja.

Mr. Raja said the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government had conducted many developmental activities in the panchayat.

“The tribespeople have raised demand for another road through the Anakkulam route only recently and the government will consider the feasibility of the road,” he said.