Narayanpur (Chhattisgarh): Thousands of tribals from around 13 Gram Panchayats in the Abujhmad area gathered to protest against the Forest Conservation Act 2022 and the proposed new police camp in Ikkarbhatti on Monday. The tribals including several women, dressed in their traditional clothes with arrows and bows, raised slogans against the government in this three-day-long protest. They clarified that they intend to prolong the protest further if their demands for the withdrawal of the police camp are not fulfilled.
Malti Potai, a resident of Kachchapal, said, "The proposal of the camp of security forces in our villages will only create problems for us. Women will not be able to roam freely in the forest. Atrocities against women will increase. There are chances that the villagers will be mistaken for Naxalites and sent to jail." She further highlighted that the villagers may be imposed with additional taxes if the camps are set up. "It is not fair of the government to take such a decision without consulting with the Gram Sabha," she added.
Expressing her views against the Forest Conservation Act 2022 as well, Potai said that the Act will restrict the villagers from even entering the forests despite their livelihood being entirely dependent on the forest produce. "The sole means of livelihood for most villagers in my area is the forest produce. We even get our medicines from the forests. How will we survive if we are not even allowed to enter the forests?" she said, further demanding for the Forest Conservation Act, 1996 to be recovered and retained.
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Dhobaram, a resident of Kachcha Pal said, "We are protesting against the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act and the Forest Conservation Act. The Forest Conservation Act, which was enacted in 1996, was good. It imparted us the right over the water and forest land. But with the new law, all of it will be occupied by the government. They will open mines and camps. It will take a toll on our livelihoods."
The authorities on the other hand said that the area where the camps are being proposed is majorly under the control of Naxalites. Police believe that the security camps here will directly benefit the residents in the area and the villagers will also be able to avail basic facilities including roads, hospitals, and schools in the village.
The tribals, however, have proposed their own reasons against it. The protesting tribals are from Nednar, Kalmanar, Kasturmeta, Kutul, Durbeda, Padmamkot, Ghamdi, Kohkamet, Katchapal, Irakbhatti, Murnar, Karmari, and Rajpur -- all gathered in Irakbhatti, a prime Naxal area, for the protests.
