Addressing a press meet, Bharath said that the 20 acres of land allocated to retired Major S P Machaiah has been encroached by some vested people. Similarly, several such paisari land alloted for ex-servicemen were encroached.

“A mass protest will be organised jointly by the Jaya Karnataka Organisation and ex-servicemen in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s Office, if the authorities fail to recover the encroached land with 15 days,” he warned.

Kodagu District Ex-servicemen Association President Chendrimada Nanjappa said that there are about 18,000 ex-servicemen in Kodagu district. Politicians too worked hand in glove to grab the paisari land, which was reserved for ex-servicemen, he charged.

Ex-servicemen Association former president Pugdera Nanda, former director Machaiah, Jaya Karnataka Organisation Town Committee president Mandetira Anil, taluk convener Praveen Poojari, Pradeep Rai and others were present.