4000 People Strong Rally Against The Diversion Of 10,000 Acres Of Amritmahal Kavals
By Jahnavi Pai
06 September, 2013
Countercurrents.org
PHOTO | Srikanth Kelahatti
• 4000 people strong rally marches through Challakere
• Jilla Amritmahal Kaval Samiti urges Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to protect Ahinda communities of Challakere by giving back the Kavals to the people
• Rally calls for suspension of Aditya Amlan Biswas, I.A.S for falsifying documents
“Let the Chief Minister save the kavals instead of giving us 1kg rice, we will feed ourselves” – one of the protestors at the rally
People from around all three kavals – Ullarthi Kaval, Khudapura Kaval, Varavu Kaval came in thousands and gathered at Challakere to protest against the diversion of 10,000 acres of Amritmahal Kavals to DRDO, BARC,ISRO and various agencies. People started marching at 9am from Dooda Ullarthi, Khudapura and Nelagitnahatti and walked more than 15 kms to reach Challakere where they first gathered at the Nehru Circle and garlanded the statue of the former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and then proceeded to march towards the Tahsildar’s Office.
There is great anger and resentment among people of the 80 villages around the Kaval because of the government’s illegal diversion of the Amritmahal Kavals. People shouted slogans against the state government and central government and against the earlier D.C of Chitradurga, Aditya Amlan Biswas for diverting the kavals. The MLA of Molkalmooru, the constituency to which the 80 villages belong, Shri Thippeswamy also participated in the Padayatra.
PHOTO | Dipti Desai
At the Tahsildars office, the gathering was addressed by – Doddaullarthi Karianna, President, Jilla Amritmahal Kaval Horata Samiti ; the MLA S.Thippeswamy; C.Mahalingappa, ex-president and present member, Zilla Panchayat, Chitradurga; T.Ravikumar, ex-president and current member, Zilla Panchayat, Chitradurga ; Daakashayini Raju, Taluk Panchayat member, Challakere; Venkatswamy, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha.
The MLA, Shri S.Thippeswamy said that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who is known for his support to the AHINDA (Minorities, Dalits and Backward Classes) Communities must support the backward, tribal and nomadic communities of Challakere by giving the Kavals back to the people. He also spoke of how all the communities around the Kavals are essentially pastoralist in nature and they depend on the Kavals for their livelihood and all aspects of their life – firewood, medicinal plants, their folk gods and goddesses , water for the livestock etc, and taking the kavals away is like killing not just the people but an entire culture. Shri Karianna said that the government had violated the order issued by Justice Shylendra Kumar of the Karnataka High Court which barred the government from alienating any Amritmahal Kavals. He also said that if the Kavals are not given back , all the 80 villages will boycott the next Lok Sabha elections. Shri Mahalingappa spoke of the large number of Dalits and the poor, who did not have enough money to buy fodder and have started selling off their sheep and cattle, because they have no feed for them.
PHOTO | Srikanth Kelahatti
Later the gathering presented a memorandum to the Tahsildar of Challakere. The demands mentioned in the memorandum are as follows –
1)The state government should immediately suspend the earlier D.C, Shri Aditya Amlan Biswas for falsifying documents and illegally diverting the Kavals
2)The state government should withdraw the falsified documents and take the Kavals back from the various agencies
3)The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board must not give any environmental clearances to DRDO, BARC, ISRO etc under any circumstances
4)The police must be directed to stop filing false cases against the shepherds who use the kavals
5)The various agencies must not prevent the people from grazing their sheep, cattle and goats.
6)As is done every year, this year too, the government must open Gosahalas in the Kavals.
The Tahsildar promised to submit the memorandum to the Chief Minister through the D.C, Chitradurga. He also said that funds for setting up Goshalas were in the process of being sanctioned.
The gathering vowed to continue the campaign till the Kavals were returned to the people.
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