It is a do or die situation for the people of Thenka Yekkar who are fighting a mighty battle. Amidst fear of losing their priced possesion and uncertainty of future, these lovers of nature have taken the task of saving Thenka Yekkar from being swallowed by the Mangalore Special Economic Zone (MSEZ).
The scenario in three other villages namely Delanthalabettu, Kuthetoor and Permude is also the same but the people of Thenka Yekkar are together to wage a fight unitedly againts the faulty system.
While Thenka Yekkar is predominantly an agricultural area, the MSEZ authorities want the world to believe that it is a dry land which is not fit for cultivation.
A local resident Srinivas Yekkar says that it is a clever conspiracy to trap the locals in a vicious circle. There are talks of acquiring 2,035 acres of land in four villages of Permude, Delantalabettu, Yekkar and Thenka Yekkar, he says and adds that the SEZ Act specifically states that only ‘dry vacant land’ can be aquired for the project but irrespective of this the acquisition officer has been blatantly tagging cultivable land as dry land facilitating easy acquisition.
Mr Srinivas Yekkar says that the MSEZ records say that only 23 per cent of the land area in this region is cultivable land, while the truth is that the region has sustained excellent farming for generations together. Apart from the three crops a year, the entire region is rich in flora and fauna. Herbs of medicinal importance such as beetal leaves, `Volledakodi,’ ‘Gajjigesoppu,’ ‘Astisrankala,’ ‘garga’ and others are found here. He says that city of Mangalore will face huge price hike if Yekkar is acquired for the SEZ as huge quantity of fresh vegetables and about 2000 litres of milk is supplied to Mangalore per day from Thenka Yekkar.
Gram Panchayat Member Suresh Shetty draws attention to the fact that a sum of Rs 88 lakhs have been allotted for the village for Swarna Grama Yojane, there are thousands of people living here, of which over 120 families are landless labourers.
“If their land is taken away they will be left no where,” he said and added: “Though the officials have been talking of a well paid job, we know where we stand. We are literate but not educated. These proposed industries are all high tech automated industries which will be handled by highly educated techies. Lured by these empty promises, if we leave our land we will find ourselves as attenders or cleaners in these industries.”
On the other hand, 88-year-old Subbaiah Shetty fears that if their lands are acquired, the ancesteral customs and religious rituals of Bhootaradhane will come to end.
With firm determination to live on the same land, these residents are ready to die for their lands.