Amid mounting controversy over an order restricting night time and early morning movement and plantation work in forest border areas in Idukki, District Collector Dineshan Cheruvatt on Wednesday said that the directive would not disrupt normal life.
Inspectors of plantations in Munnar, Peerumade, and Udumbanchola were directed to instruct estate owners and labourers to halt all movement and operations inside plantations from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. to prevent wild animal attacks, according to the order issued on Monday.
However, the directive has drawn sharp backlash, with farmer organisations and the Syro-Malabar Church’s Idukki diocese demanding its immediate withdrawal, alleging that it restricts the fundamental freedom of movement.
Addressing the restrictions on plantation operations, the Collector, speaking to the media, said that the directive was merely an advisory communicated through plantation inspectors.
“It only bans night work and night time movement within plantations designated as wildlife conflict hotspots. There are no restrictions in any other part of the district. Certain social media groups have distorted the administration’s directives,” he added.
The Collector clarified that a related directive regarding the removal of unauthorised fences and structures applies strictly to encroached government land. “Such fences and structures will only be cleared from hotspots identified by the Forest department. Following the death of a tribal farmer in a wild elephant attack at Panthadikkalam, near Chinnakkanal, last week, local residents and people’s representatives had specifically demanded the removal of these illegal obstructions,” said Mr. Cheruvatt.
Meanwhile, the Idukki diocese has criticised the administration, arguing that asking citizens to remain indoors amounts to administrative failure. Fr. Jins Karakkatt, director of the Idukki Diocese Media Commission, noted that human habitations and forest tracts overlap extensively across the district.
“As a responsible administration, the government must ensure that the Forest department takes proactive measures to keep wild animals confined to forest limits, rather than curbing the movement of the people,” Fr. Karakkatt said.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] and the Communist Party of India (CPI) also criticised the directive, demanding clarification on whether the district administration issued such orders with the concurrence of the Chief Minister.
Mathew Varghese, State vice-president of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), the farmers’ wing of the CPI, has termed the Collector’s decision unethical, remarking that asking people to stay indoors facilitates the unrestricted movement of wild animals into farmlands and residential zones. “Within a single week, the District Collector has issued twosuch anti-people directives,” Mr. Varghese said.
Echoing similar concerns, Advocate Alex Ozhukayil, chairperson of the Kerala Independent Farmers Association (KIFA), said the government must capture and translocate problematic animals back to deep forests rather than confining residents.
“Orders that mandate the removal of protective fences while restricting the entry and movement of people risk turning the entire district into an open jail,” Mr. Ozhukayil said.
Published – September 30, 2026 08:09 pm IST
