Unethical to call Badagas forest encroachers: Activist

A Kotagiri-based activist, Yukesh Saravanan, who is also the convenor of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, Youth Caucus, has called out the forest department for its unethical approach in evicting residents of Ajoor, a Badaga hamlet in Udhagamandalam Taluk, two days after they filed a petition with Nilgiris Collector Lakshmi Bhavya Tanneru.

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"It is morally incorrect to term Badagas as encroachers of forest lands, owing to anthropological and archeological evidence, which is a testament to their intricate relationship with forests. The 1809 census enumeration, documented by the British, substantially claims the presence of a Badaga populace in Ajoor. This da