Kalasa tribal leader gets R-Day invite

Krishnappa, a member Gowdalu tribal community and a resident of Bedakki, has been invited to witness the prestigious Republic Day Parade in New Delhi on January 26.

This is a rare honour for Krishnappa. This is part of the Centre's decision to invite two leaders from tribal communities for the R-day parade. Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP), which had nominated Krishnappa's name, will foot the travel and other expenses of Krishnappa during his 15 day-long stay in New Delhi.

Krishnappa, aged 35 years, is the founder secretary of Kalaseshwara Swamy Girijana Sangha and he has been striving for the development of Gowdalu community. He was instrumental in providing electricity connection to 15 houses in Nellikota village and in providing drinking water facility to five beneficiaries in the village, under Ganga Kalyana project. As a member of the Forest Rights Committee, he has also worked to provide cultivation rights to the farmers belonging to Gowdalu community.

He said that he will draw the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide more facilities to the people from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The Gowdalu community population, which is less than 15,000, is spread across Mudigere, Koppa and Sringeri taluks, he added.