Western Ghats: Solidarity council takes out march By Express News Service - THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
Published: 26th November 2013 12:15 PM Last Updated: 26th November 2013 12:15 PM The Western Ghats Protection Solidarity Council on Monday took out a protest march to the Raj Bhavan here, demanding the protection of the Western Ghats and the implementation of Madhav Gadgil Report. They also urged the government to arrest the culprits behind the violence at Thamarassery in the guise of protests against the Kasturirangan Report. Speaking after inaugurating the protest, political thinker Ninan Koshy said that the implementation of the Gadgil Report was the necessity of the time for the protection of environment and survival of mankind. He alleged that a section of Church leaders and political forces were trying to scuttle the report. Koshy also charged that these groups had induced violence in Thamarassery and they had to be booked at the earliest. Veteran journalist and human rights activist B R P Bhaskar alleged that violence erupted in Thamarassery after a false propaganda was spread about the Gadgil Report among the people living in the hilly regions. He said that the government, as well as the political organisations, should come up with elaborate discussions on the report. Instead, they themselves are aiding the false propaganda, he said. Bhaskar also alleged that the violence unleashed by the quarry, sand, forest and resort mafias in the guise of farmers in the hilly tracts, was only with the connivance of political organisations, church leaders and the government. They challenged the Constitution through unleashing such violence, he said. Solidarity Council secretary K M Thomas, K G Santosh Kumar, T Peter and John Peruvanthanam were present. The leaders said that they would chart out a plan of action in a mass convention to be held in Kottayam on December 15. March in support of Gadgil report http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/march-in-support-of-gadgil-report/article5392256.ece The Western Ghats Protection Solidarity Council marched to the Raj Bhavan on Monday, demanding that the government implement the Madhav Gadgil report. Rights campaigner Ninan Koshy, who inaugurated the march, said that implementation of the Gadgil report was imperative for the sustenance of nature and human life in the region. A section of vested political interests and some religious outfits were trying to torpedo the report and were misusing administrative machineries and encouraging violence at Thamarassery. *‘Misinformation’* Mr. Koshy demanded that the government take action against those who were challenging the law of the land. B.R.P. Bhaskar, social activist, addressing the march, said that violence had been unleashed in Thamarassery by vested interests who were leading a campaign of misinformation by wrongly interpreting the Gadgil report. Instead of circulating the recommendations in Malayalam for the common man, and initiating meaningful discussions, political parties and the government were aiding the misinformation campaign, he added. *Meet on December 15* The violence committed by quarry, sand, forest and resort ‘mafias’, with the silent support of the government and religious organisations in the guise of supporting the cause of settler farmers, was nothing short of terrorism, he said. The council will hold a popular convention at Kottayam on December 15 to plan their future course of agitation. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
