Section of Chellanam residents boycott polls

Joyce Babu, a housewife from Kannamali alongside the coastal belt of the Kochi Assembly constituency, was amongst those that selected to boycott the election as a mark of protest beneath the aegis of Kochi Chellanam Janakeeya Vedhi.

And, the rationale for her boycott could possibly be seen proper subsequent to her home alongside a totally collapsed seawall that hardly serves the aim of holding marauding sea waves from surging into households within the neighbourhood throughout each excessive tide.

“All political parties have shared power but have failed to offer us any respite from our nightmare. All they have given us over the years have been empty promises. Why should we even bother to vote for people who don’t care for us?” requested 55-year-old Ms. Babu who has been dwelling there for 25 years now.

Metilda Cleetus, one other housewife from Saudi, additionally boycotted the ballot on identical grounds. She is unsparing of political events’ alleged apathy in direction of the plight of coastal individuals who regularly have to maneuver to reduction camps with little privateness with their grown-up women and toddlers each time the ocean breaches the coast. “For someone who had never wasted a single vote, it was with a heavy heart that I decided to forgo my voting right for the first time,” stated Ms. Cleetus.

Kochi Chellanam Janakeeya Vedhi has been on a relay starvation strike for 520 days now, demanding an answer to sea erosion by erecting seawall and groynes. The protest has since been shifted from a roadside pandal to particular person households in compliance with the COVID-19 protocol.

“Initially, nearly 2,300 people had planned to boycott the election, but quite a few succumbed to pressures from political parties and even the Church. Yet, over 1,000 might have boycotted it,” stated Jayan Kunnel, working president of the organisation.

He added that the organisation had for lengthy been asking for a easy resolution of depositing sediments and soil dredged by the Cochin Port Trust alongside the Chellanam coast. “That will help reduce the depth along the coast, thereby softening the intensity of sea erosion. That is a simple relief possible with an executive order, and following it up with erecting groynes to retain sediments from getting washed away will offer a permanent solution,” stated Mr. Kunnel.