Kerala woman activist warns of 'extreme steps'

The 31-year-old woman from Kerala, who has been protesting at Jantar Mantar for the last three months against sand mining mafia with her three children, today said the family will resort to "extreme steps" if Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy does not meet her as promised.
"The chief minister had promised me that he would meet me today. If he does not visit us, me and my children will have to take extreme steps. We will roam around the streets of Delhi with a white cloth over us to show how we are treated," said Vaddakkel Jazeera of Kannur.
"Why does the chief minister want intermediaries, why can not he approach me directly," she asked.

Jazeera, along with her three children, came to Delhi in October and since then has been protesting at Jantar Mantar.
The woman came to the national capital after an assurance from the chief minister, subsequent to a 64-day-long sit-in by the woman outside the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram, failed to yield result.
Clad in a burqa, with her three children huddled against her, the activist accused human rights activists and non profit organisations for trying to take credit of her fight.

"Me and my children have taken this fight to where it is now. We don't want the support of those people who approach us only for getting their names printed in the papers," she said.

The crusader, who has been in the capital for the past several months protesting over the illegal ferrying of sand along the coastal area in her native village Madayi in Kerala, made headlines for her lone battle against the mafia which prompted the National Human Rights Commission to take suo moto cognizance of her case.
"The human rights body has asked for a report on the issue from the Kerala government by January 14," Jazeera said.
Ubais Sainulabdeen, who is working with Amnesty International and is a regular visitor at the protesting site, said that Jazeera should take the protest back to Kerala where she can take concerted efforts against the mafia all over the state.

"Jazeera with her grit and determination has fought this battle all alone. I feel she should take the fight back to her home ground where there are so many people waiting to join her. She can create a bigger impact from there," he commented.