Usually the number of voters increases in every election in most polling stations, but a polling station at Chettyalathur in Wayanad is witnessing the opposite, thanks to the escalating human-wildlife conflict.
There were 544 voters in the settlement in 2018 but now the tally has declined to 139. Only 87 of the 139 voters cast their vote on Thursday.
Decades ago the voting percentage in the hamlet was more than 90% but it has declined to 62.5% now, says K. Ramesh, 44, a farmer at Chettyalathur.
The hamlet, surrounded by the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu’s Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, and Karnataka’s Bandipur Tiger Reserve, is nearly 10 km from Cheeral, the nearest town.
Basic amenities such as electricity and drinking water facilities are out of reach of residents. Crop raids by wild animals and human-wildlife conflict are common here. Hence, the settlers are forced to leave the place, says Mr. Ramesh.
In 2011, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change launched a project allowing forest settlers to relocate to areas of their choice outside. As many as 101 of the 186 families of the hamlet chose to move out. However, those in possession of patta land (land with title deeds) think it is unfair on the part of the government not to compensate them adequately.
Seven families that together own around 40 acres of patta land do not want to move out unless they are paid the market price as decided by the government. “I get a return of about ₹5 lakh from the three acres I own as I have cultivated coffee, pepper, and areca nut there. How do I purchase even half an acre outside the hamlet with the ₹15 lakh given by the government?” asks Venugopal, a farmer.
Many of the families are now living with their relatives or have rented houses outside the settlement owing to the dearth of facilities. Many of them could not reach the polling station to exercise their franchise, he says.
Nearly 70 students were studying in the school at the hamlet till a few years ago, now the number has declined to 13, Ammini, says a tribal woman.
