CPI(M) observed a 12-hour hartal in seven Pathanamthitta villages against the Centre's draft ESA notification.
The party demanded the exclusion of human settlements and agricultural lands from proposed eco-sensitive zones.
Business establishments remained closed and private buses stayed off the roads during the protest.
The CPI(M) on Saturday observed a hartal in seven villages in Pathanamthitta district, demanding their exclusion from the Centre’s draft ESA notification.
Shops, commercial establishments and educational institutions remained closed, police said.
The dawn-to-dusk hartal, from 6 am to 6 pm, is being observed in Chittar, Perunad, Vadasserikkara, Aruvappulam, Kollamula, Thannithode and Seethathode villages.
Private buses have stayed off the roads in these areas, while additional police personnel have been deployed to prevent any untoward incidents, officials said.
The party also held protest rallies in the villages.
In a Facebook post on Friday, CPI(M) Pathanamthitta district secretary Raju Abraham said the hartal would be limited to the seven villages affected by the Ecologically Sensitive Area, and alleged that a false campaign had claimed it would cover the entire district.
He said various programmes, including campaign marches led by party leaders through the affected villages, had been organised for over a month to mobilise support for the hartal.
Abraham claimed that implementing the notification could lead to an increase in the wild animal population and turn the affected areas into dense forest over the next 10 to 15 years because of restrictions imposed by the Forest Department.
He said the CPI(M) was demanding the exclusion of human settlements from the proposed eco-sensitive zones, adding that residents were worried about the possible consequences.
He alleged that the notification was introduced by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh when he was Union environment minister in the Manmohan Singh government.
The proposed notification has raised concerns among farmers living near forest areas in the district, particularly over possible restrictions on construction if their land is brought under the zones.
