With focus on man-wildlife conflict, farmers’ association plans to contest Kerala assembly polls

Kozhikode: Kerala Independent Farmers' Association (KIFA) has released a 15-point rights charter, focusing primarily on the issue of human-wildlife conflict, and said it would consider fielding candidates in the upcoming assembly elections after assessing the response of political parties to its demands. KIFA chairman Alex Ozhukayil said the state govt itself has identified 78 assembly constituencies as being affected by human-wildlife conflict. Of these, KIFA plans to play an active role in at least 30 constituencies where the problem is most severe, irrespective of whether it eventually contests the elections or not. "We will intervene in the election process in campaign mode in these 30 constituencies, highlighting human-wildlife conflict and other issues faced by farmers. The decision on whether to field candidates will be taken only after we examine how political parties respond to our rights charter," Ozhukayil said. He noted that of the 78 affected constituencies, 54 are currently represented by LDF and 24 by UDF. "If UDF hopes to come to power, it must win at least 35 constituencies from those now held by LDF. In effect, it is the farming community that will decide which front forms the next govt," he added. Ozhukayil said a final decision would be taken after reviewing how the major political fronts address the issues raised by KIFA in their election manifestos. KIFA claimed in the charter that as per Section 11 (2) of the Wildlife Protection Act, it is not a crime to kill or injure wild animals which stray into revenue lands and pose threat to life and property and demanded that the govt should not register cases in such instances It also called for compensation to victims of human-wildlife conflict to be determined on a case-by-case basis, on the lines of compensation awarded in motor vehicle accident cases, taking into account factors such as the age of the victim. The rights charter was released at Thiruvambady on Saturday.