Villagers block road in protest against forest department move

Accusing the forest department of coming in the way of development works including road and drinking water, the BJP Kalasa hobli unit staged a road block in Kuduremukh on Sunday.

The protesters shouted slogans against the forest department and Karkala wildlife division. BJP workers from Kalasa, Kuduremukh, Nellibeedu, Samse, Balehole and other villages expressed their displeasure over the forest department for not allowing the reasphaltation of state highway on Kalasa-S K border. 

The protesters demanded permission to start the road work from Monday. Addressing the protesters, Taluk Panchayat President M A Sheshagiri said that the forest department and Karkala wildlife division is coming in the way of development of Kalasa- Kuduremukh- S K Border road, at a cost of Rs 25 crore and Kalasa-Honnekadu drinking water project, at a cost of Rs seven crore. The forest department had been following anti-people policy, he added.

By not allowing fishing in the streams in and around Kuduremukh, the forest department has been engaged in acting against the interest of the people, he said.

Former MLA M P Kumaraswamy said that with the Central government planning to implement recommendations of Kasturirangan on conservation of Western Ghats, all those who live in the jurisdiction of the Western Ghats are in distress.

Under Project Tiger proposal, there is a proposal to start seven tiger sanctuaries in Karnataka. The government has been giving emphasis to wildlife and forest rather than humanbeing.

Karkala wildlife division DFO who spoke over phone with Sheshagiri has  has promised to issue permission within two days for the road work. He had also promised to look into the proposal on Kalasa drinking water project by visiting the spot and initiating action.

For the protest, the road was blocked for one and half hours causing much inconvenience to commuters.