People's Democracy

DYFI’S Human chain IN KERALA

 Major Youth Intervention On Environmental Issues

 K Anil Kumar

MAY 29 EVENING: Thousands of people arrayed in a human chain from Kumarakom to Thanneer Mukkam, through the banks of “Vembandu Lake,” the biggest backwater lake in Kerala. The call was given by the Kottayam district committee of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI).

Those who participated in this campaign included youth, women, peasants, agricultural workers, fishermen and environmentalists, writers, artists and others. The campaign was a timely intervention of the youth in environmental issues. For, the Kerala environment, which is too attractive by its greenness, is facing a serious threat today due to reckless acts in the guise of development and tourism.

For example, in Kumarakom, situated on the banks of Vembanad Lake and an attractive tourist centre in Kerala, the UDF government has miserably failed to control the forces that are encroaching upon the lake to grab land here. Here, the DYFI had physically intervened in 2003, resulting in vacation of 800 acres of land grabbed by encroachers. Now the entire lake has got polluted because of the waste disposal waste by hotels, houseboats and some industrial units. Due to this uncontrolled pollution, the availability of fish and shells in the lake has decreased and thousands of fishermen and others, who were getting their livelihood from the lake, have been badly affected. It was therefore no wonder that when the DYFI came forward to address such environmental issues, it got wide responxe from the people and coverage in the media.

There are 44 rivers flowing through Kerala and it is fortunate in terms of rain also. Despite such abundance of water, however, Kerala is nowadays suffering due to scarcity of water. The people in Palakadu district are now waging a struggle against the groundwater exploitation by Coca Cola and Pepsi units. But the DYFI took up the issue and organised a 55 km long human chain in March, undeterred even by the imprisonment of its cadres by the UDF government. In other parts of Kerala, like Vagamon in Iddukki and Mangalapuram in Thiruvanthapuram district, DYFI took the initiative to rally the masses in defence of environment. In Alleppy, where black seasand mining is causing serious environmental problems in the entire district, the Left led organisations played a pivotal role in defeating the malafide acts of the vested interests who were supporting this mining.

The recent human chain programme of the DYFI was preceded by a three months long environmental campaign by local units. DYFI’s all-India president K N Balagopal inaugurated the district level jathas at Vagamon in Iddukki district which sought to create an environmental awareness among people.

CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and opposition leader in Kerala assembly, V S Achuthanadan, was the first person in the chain at its Thanneer Mukam end while its state secretariat member Thomas Issac was the last person at the other end. Famous poet Kadamanitta Ramakrishnan and other notable figures were also present, along with DYFI state leaders P R Vasanthan, A Pradeep Kumar, P Sreeramakrishnan, C Shyam Sunder, G Gokuldas and Babylal. The people who joined the human chain took a pledge to defend the Kerala environment that is facing destruction due to capitalist greed. They also raised slogans against the imperialist countries who are out to kill the Kyoto agreement.

One will remember that the last (Amritsar) conference of the DYFI, which is currently celebrating its silver jubilee, had incorporated the environmental issues in its programme. The recent DYFI intervention in Kerala is in line with this very understanding on the environmental movement.