A tense situation prevails on the forest fringes along the Kerala-Karnataka border near the Barapole river in Ayyankunnu panchayat in Kannur following a standoff between local people and the Karnataka Forest department.
On Sunday, an action council, comprising residents supported by political parties and social activists, decided to plough and clear the disputed land. The council says it will challenge what it deems an illegitimate claim by the Karnataka Forest department that the area is in Karnataka’s jurisdiction.
Local people say Karnataka authorities are preventing families from engaging in agricultural and developmental activities in the area. Residents accuse the Makkoottam Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary authorities of uprooting and destroying cassava crops grown by a local resident recently.
