A lone woman’s crusade against the sand mafia
Determined:Jazeera along with her children protesting in front of the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram. —Photo: Kaavya Pradeep Kumar
The so-called sand mafia of a little taluk in Kannur rues the day Jazeera returned home. Dismissed as an insignificant voice of protest against the rampant exploitation of a stretch of shoreline near Pazhayangadi town, this woman has soon come to be known as a force to be reckoned with. All the way from the northern district of Kannur, she has brought her silent campaign to the State capital, as she sits in front of the Secretariat with her three children — protesting without loud sloganeering or politically coloured flags or leaflets.
Entering the fifth day, Jazeera’s protest has thus far been eclipsed by a far more populous Left protest.
Now that they have left, the presence of this family has become more conspicuous, leading the Chief Minister to meet them briefly on Monday afternoon on the issue of sand-mining in her hometown. For Jazeera, the cause is intensely personal, as the Neerozhukkumchal beach is the canvas all her childhood memories are painted upon.
She is an autorickshaw driver, a profession she has struggled to be part of, in a conservative society. She does not let herself to be affected by such taboos and continued working until after her marriage in 2004, when she moved to Kottayam with her husband.
She has found the new district far more accepting. It was only one and a half years ago, when she returned home during the final month of her third pregnancy, did she see to her shock the daylight robbery of a natural landscape.
Countless visits to the Kannur collectorate and police stations have proved futile.
And for the past one and a half years, her silent protest has involved a sit-in, along with her daughters Rizwana, Shifana and her son Mohammed. The two girls, aged 12 and 10, know everything about the case and have flanked their mother every step. Her husband, Abdul Salaam, is a teacher at a madrasa in Kochi.
While he has not been a visible part of Jazeera’s protest, his support, despite pressure various quarters, has been a huge boon for her.
She is clear about her objective despite the obstacles strewn before her in terms of muscle and money power. Even the police, she says, have pleaded with her to give up. “Their greed is despicable. In broad daylight they commit this heinous crime of emptying our lands, oblivious to the fact that there are so many creatures that depend on it. The sudden depth of water is dangerous as well,” she says.
She is glad to have met the Chief Minister personally and she said he assured her that he would ensure that the vehicles carting away the sand would be immediately dealt with.
She will leave once she obtains something in print promising a complete halt of the activities.
Jazeera is on a silent campaign, in defence of the Neerozhukkumchal beach in Kannur
Published: August 12, 2013 12:21 IST | Updated: August 12, 2013 12:21 IST
Jazeera stays on, despite gathering storm
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Scores of CPI(M) party workers are set to descend upon the city on Monday. And to meet them are troops from the Central Reserve Police Force and the State police. Considering the saturation coverage by television channels of the coming Secretariat siege being led by the CPI(M), any resident of Thiruvananthapuram is bound to become at least mildly apprehensive about what may unravel on Monday.
But there is one woman and her three children who have been carrying out their silent protest in front of the Secretariat for 10 days now, who appear to be unperturbed by the approaching storm.
Having become a familiar sight in front of the North Gate, Jazeera has no intention of abandoning her protest.
In fact, when she left her rented room with her children on Sunday morning, she had an additional baggage of blankets, sheets, stock of food and water as she intends to spend the night here knowing for a certainty that it would be impossible to find their way back to their usual spot on Monday.
This is unsurprising considering the determination this lone woman has displayed in battling the so-called sand-mafia that is eating up the beach near her childhood home at Kannur.
“Why should we go? I have come here for a reason and it makes no sense to leave it halfway simply because there is another protest. Yes, there will be huge numbers and they have one cause – the Chief Minister’s resignation. Seriously, there are other, more grave issues that need to be addressed,” Jazeera states.
It is this clarity of approach that has managed to get even the mafia worried even though the campaign involves just one Muslim woman and two girls Rizwana (12) and Shifana (10) and one-and-half-year old Mohammed.
Shifana looked up from her meticulous colouring and nodded as her mother said that the mafia has posed worse threats. “This protest does not frighten us. I have been physically harassed by the people involved in the excavation and here there is no threat,” she says.
She has found her adopted town far more acceptable of her and her profession as an autorickshaw driver. It was only when she returned for the final month of her third pregnancy, did she see the systematic destruction of the slim stretch of shore. Visits to the collectorate and police stations have proved futile, she says.
“I have decided that I am not going to leave until I receive a written promise from the Chief Minister than this nonsense will be stopped. I’m glad that I have at least drawn attention to what the mafia has been doing there,” said Jazeera, adding that Mr. Chandy had met the family on Monday and had promised her that they would immediately crack down on the trucks transporting the sand.
In 2010, when V Jazeera came home for the delivery of her third child, she noticed a marked change in the landscape of Neerozhukkumchal beach. The eroded shoreline of beach, less than one kilometer in length and located near Pazhayangadi in Kannur district, Kerala, is a result of the rampant sand mining in this area for the last five years.
Kerala: Mother of three takes on mining mafia to save Kannur beaches
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Thiruvananthapuram: It was not just IAS officers who were taking on , now a mother of three has been taking on the mining mafia in to save the beaches of her hometown in Kannur.
As the entire nation has been busy celebrating Eid, a Muslim woman with her three children was protesting at the government secretariat to stop illegal sand minning in Kannur.
The woman was branded mentally sick and was shunned by her own brothers, but's protest has been continuing for the last five days with her infant son in hand and two young daughters by her side. This was all to save the beaches of her village from the sand mafia.
Jazeera said she went to the local police but they did not do anything. "I went to the local police first, showed them all proofs, but they didn't do anything."
Meanwhile, Chief minister met Jazeera on Monday and had promised all help, but she did not seem to be convinced by it.
She added that the protest will continue till the time the chief Minister gives written assurance. "The Chief Minister said he will take action. But till he gives a written assurance the protest will continue come what may," she said.
Now, many people have come up to support her cause. It has been one-and-half years since she took up the cause and now many have stood by her.
National Fishermen Workers Association Secretary T Peter said, "No one can take away land from a fisherman."
District Secretary of Jamaat Islami Nuzareth said, "We will continue to support her."
Already in jeopardy over the solar panel scam and constant infighting, it remains to be seen if the state government will respond to her demands.
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