Kerala HC seeks report on 300 tribal families in Nilambur
Kochi: High court has sought instructions from the Malappuram district collector regarding the condition of approximately 300 tribal families residing in the Pothugal, Vazhikadavu and Karulai grama panchayats in Nilambur.
The collector has been directed to submit the details by next Friday.
The bench of Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Basant Balaji issued the directive while hearing a petition filed by Aryadan Shouketh, former chairman of Nilambur municipality, and Sudha Vaniyampuzha. During the hearing on Friday, the petitioners submitted that the condition of the tribal communities was extremely grave. The court directed the state govt to obtain instructions from the collector and furnish the necessary details.
The petition, originally filed in Feb 2024, alleged that the tribal communities in the panchayats were living in deplorable conditions due to govt inaction. The petitioners highlighted that the families were residing in makeshift sheds covered with plastic sheets deep within the forest, facing constant threats to their safety. They also raised concerns over the lack of basic connectivity to the mainland, pointing out that the Iruttu Kuthi Concrete Bridge over the Chaliyar River and the Punjakolli Iron Bridge over the Punnapuzha River were destroyed during the floods of 2018 and 2019, leaving the region cut off from essential services and support.
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Similarly, in another incident in June, 2025, a local man was physically attacked by a group of intoxicated tourists from Uttar Pradesh. And yet, in these cases, national – and local –reports have had the decency to not speculate such incidents as indicators of stereotypical characteristics of tourists visiting the state. Meghalaya need not be at the beck and call of its tourism industry for its prosperity. There is no precondition to its existence that compels its people to turn every inch of their homeland into an amusement park for tourists from other states. Whether or not it is, and will be a tourist destination —and to what extent it will—depends significantly on the consent and mandate of its people, and not only on government policy and state highhandedness. It is of the utmost importance that the discourse, and the industry itself, de-centres the mainlander and makes it about the people of the state and their interests. Ayaan Halder is a poet, author and doctoral research scholar at the Department of Law, Gauhati University, Assam (India). He spent his childhood and teenage years in Meghalaya, and is still closely associated with residents of the state. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
