A protest was held in Madikeri recently under the leadership of the Kodagu District Farmers’ Struggle Committee and Farmers Association against the Kasturirangan Report. The protest led to a road blockade of about two hours, bringing traffic on several major routes in the city to a standstill.
Farmers blocked the road near General K.S. Thimayya Circle and demanded that the Deputy Commissioner, District Forest Conservator and Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer visit the spot and hear their grievances. Vehicles were stranded for kilometres on roads leading towards Mysuru, Virajpet and Mangaluru.
Farmers’ Struggle Committee Convener Suresh Chakravarthy said requests had been submitted for special Gram Sabhas to be convened in all 103 Gram Panchayats in the district to pass resolutions opposing the Kasturirangan Report, but there had been no adequate response.
He expressed concern that 53 villages in Kodagu would come under the Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) category under the report and said that, if the buffer zone were also included, as many as 295 villages could face serious difficulties. The protesters also demanded a solution to the longstanding problems faced by farmers cultivating ‘C’ and ‘D’ category lands.
They sought appropriate compensation for aMukkodlu farmer, whose coffee and cardamom crops were destroyed allegedly by the Forest Department. Following the protest, Deputy Commissioner S.G. Somashekhar, District Forest Officer Sonal Vrishni, Deputy Conservator of Forests Abhishek and Zilla Panchayat CEO Anand Prakash Meena visited the site and heard the farmers’ demands.
Deputy Commissioner Somashekhar assured the protesters that their sentiments regarding the Kasturirangan Report would be conveyed to the government.
MLA Dr. Manthar Gowda said the special inquiry committee constituted to examine the ‘C’ and ‘D’ category land issue would take local sentiments into consideration before submitting its report to the government.
The protesters warned that they would lay siege to Forest Bhavan if their demands were not addressed. Following assurances regarding compensation, they withdrew the road blockade and proceeded to Gandhi Maidan for a public meeting.
Hundreds of people participated in the protest, including former Legislative Assembly Speaker K.G. Bopaiah, former Minister M.P. Appachu Ranjan, former Legislative Council member S.G. Medappa, District Congress President Theethira Dharmaja Uthappa, District BJP President Napanda Ravi Kalappa, and Farmers’ Struggle Committee and Farmers’ Association leaders B.J. Deepak, Mithun Haraga and Diwakar Koothi, besides Congress leader Napanda Muthappa.
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