A satyagraha organised by various environmentalists and social organisations in front of the District Collectorate demanding steps to protect the ecologically fragile Nelliampathy forests was inaugurated by S. Shankar, senior scientist of the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI), on Wednesday.

The organisations demanded that the government take over all lease-expired forest land in Nelliampathy and order a high-level police inquiry into cases relating to the pledging of the forest land in banks to take huge amounts of loan.