Kerala Governor urged to intervene to stop reforms in Lakshadweep

Social and environmental scientists, social activists, ecologists and geographers have appealed to Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan to intervene instantly to stop the reforms which might be below means in Lakshadweep and to assessment them urgently.

“The changes being proposed, apparently for the welfare of the people, should be implemented only after a thorough consultative process. The programmes being planned should have a long-term vision and follow a regional, need-based, consultative approach rather than the top-down way being envisaged now,” they mentioned in a letter to the Governor on Wednesday.

Expressing shock over the happenings in Lakshadweep, they mentioned the ethnic group construction of this distinctive little bit of land mendacity afloat the Arabian Sea had withstood the vagaries of the ocean and climate. The occupants of the island had tailored and located a distinct segment that enabled them to deal with the constraints of land-and- freshwater availability.

The social material, constructed on an ecosystem-based economic system linked to fishing, was based mostly on cooperation, tolerance, acceptance and mutual dependence, they mentioned in the letter. While proposing the reforms, no consideration or due respect had been given to the time-tested methods of land use, land possession, ocean useful resource utilisation and or livelihood practices adopted by the group. To add insult to harm, the tradition and traditions of the ethnic group had been missed and efforts had been being made to intervene in the meals habits, reproductive freedom and self-reliance of the inhabitants of the island.

The current strategies of decision-making utilizing one of many oldest types of democratic decentralisation which added to the cohesiveness of the folks in the islands can be be torn aside by these modifications proposed, the letter mentioned. If high-volume tourism was promoted, it will have an effect on the carrying capability of the 32 sq km of the inhabited islands and adversely influence the lifetime of the folks, the group mentioned in the letter.

The Governor had been urged to intervene to set issues proper in the islands.

The signatories embody D. Nandakumar, former Professor of Geography; S. Santhi, environmental researcher and scientist; Radha Gopalan, environmental scientist; Gopakumar Pillai, ocean hydrographer; Usha P.E., social activist; Ashok S., human useful resource guide; Jolly Varghese, geographer; Renu Henry, environmental activist, and Anitha S., ecologist, topic skilled on ecology of Lakshadweep.