Youth Congress workers stage protest before house of environmentalist

The construction curbs on the Neryamangalam-Valara stretch of the Kochi-Dhanushkodi National Highway (NH85), connecting Munnar hill station to Ernakulam, have emerged as a political issue in the district, following a recent High Court order regarding the road construction.

The High Court on Friday issued an order restricting the widening works on the 14.5 km stretch, which is at the intersection of the NH, on a petition filed by an Idukki-based environmentalist, M.N. Jayachandran.

After the court order, protests erupted in the district. Various political parties and farmers’ groups alleged that Mr. Jayachandran was trying to block development activities with the support of the Forest department.

Youth Congress workers staged a protest in front of the house of Mr. Jayachandran. According to Congress leaders, the Youth Congress workers put up a blockade in front of his house at Thodupuzha on Sunday at 10 a.m. The protesters locked the gate of the house. The Youth Congress’s former State secretary, M.A. Ansary, inaugurated the protest and said that if Mr. Jayachandran continues the anti-people interventions, the people will not allow him to leave the house. After the protest, the police arrived at the location and unlocked the gate.

The members of Coexistence Collective, Kerala, a collective of environmentally conscious and concerned groups across Kerala, demanded action against the Youth Congress workers.

“Mr. Jayachandran has merely exercised his constitutional duty and civic responsibility by approaching the Court to prevent illegal activities in forest areas. Targeting such a petitioner is equivalent to attacking the rule of law, judicial independence, and environmental protection itself,” they said.

Rasak Chooravelil, general convener of the Idukki Land Freedom Movement (ILFM), said that the interventions of Mr. Jayachandran resulted in blocking the development activities in the hilly district.

“An affidavit submitted by K.R. Jyothi Lal, Additional Chief Secretary to the Forest and Wildlife Department, stated that the area is a reserve forest, and it resulted in a construction curb order from the government. After the High Court in May 2024 ordered that the Forest Department should not interfere with the construction works of the road, the State government decided not to file an appeal against the order. We suspect that the Forest Department is behind the petition filed by Mr. Jayachandran,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Jayachandran said that he will not oppose the construction activities of the highway. “The construction activities and tree felling were conducted on the reserve forest area without permission from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), and I raised the issue before the court,” he said.