Activists allege diocese hand in anti- Gadgil riot, say riots instigated to protect vested interests
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KOZHIKODE: Green activists came out heavily against the diocese of Thamarassery for operating granite quarries in the name of parish vicars and abetting anti-nature sentiments in collusion with quarry mafia elements.
It is to be recalled that this newspaper in a report on October 8 had revealed that the Thamarassery diocese was running two quarries in the name of parish vicars for many years.
The Little Flower Church, Pushpagiri was abandoned an-d the consecrated shrine at the entrance was pulled down to facilitate quarrying.
Noted activist Adv Harish Vasudevan told DC that the bishop owed an apology to the people of the state for the arson unleashed in the name of farmers in the Western Ghats region in Malabar.
“Now the public can realize the real ‘interest’ of the diocese behind the anti-Gadgil agitation,” he said, adding that the government should investigate the role of the diocese beh-ind the anti-Gadgil riots and the nexus between the church and quarry mafia.
More than fifty incidents of attacks against forest officials and staff were reported in November 2013 during the agitation in Kozhikode, Kannur and Wayanad districts, according to the data of the forest department.
The intensity of the attack was at its worst in Kozhikode district and Thamarassery was the focal point. The forest offices at Peruv-annamoozhy, Poozhythod, Thusharagiri, Anakk-ampoyil and Thiruvam-badi were attacked by the agitators majority of who-m were allegedly members belonging to the timber, quarry and sand mafia.
Wayanad Prakrithi Sam-rakshana Samithy president N. Badusha demanded immediate action against those involved in the attack.
“I suspect the attack was aimed at destroying case files of wildlife cri-mes. It is also learned that there is an organised move by the diocese to pressurise the government to withdraw the cases,” he added.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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