JOIN US'Let farmers stay at Masagali reserve forest'
B S Jairam, president of the Karnataka Growers’ Federation (KGF), has urged the state government not to evict the farmers from the Masagali reserve forest in the district.
The farmers involved in tilling the land since pre-Independence era are on tenterhooks with the chief secretary to the government filing a false affidavit before the Supreme Court.
Addressing media persons on Tuesday here, Jairam, who advocated allowing the farmers to continue to live unperturbed inside the forest area, alleged that the chief secretary has mistaken land holdings for encroachment and has filed an affidavit before the apex court of the country. Following the development, a population of 6,000 people from 196 households living in the woods for the last 40 years are rattled.
Elaborating on the ownership of the farmers, Jairam said, starting from a princely rule and followed by elected governments, the farmers have been granted both revenue and forest documents related to land holdings for tilling the same.
The beneficiaries include SC, ST, minorities, backward classes and also poor who have build houses on the same, besides involving in cultivating the land.
Jairam wanted the state government to take steps on the lines of the Andhra Pradesh, as the latter had exhorted the Centre to file an affidavit before the Supreme Court, when a similar situation emerged in their state. The Karnataka government should convince the apex court about realities back home and also safeguard the interests of farmers, he said.
The federation has also appealed Minister for Forest, Ecology and Environment B Ramanath Rai to take permanent measures towards controlling the elephant menace and rescue and shift rogue elephants.
Elephant menace
In addition, the minister has been apprised about the increasing elephant menace in Chikkamagaluru, Hassan and Kodagu districts and about several lives having been lost in rogue elephant attack. It has become a permanent bane at Sakleshpur and Alur taluks of Hassan district where two herds of elephant have been regularly raiding the farms thus destroying crops.
The federation has also taken part in the indefinite protest of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Hasiru Sene in Bengaluru, extending its support demanding waiver of loans advanced to farmers, women self-help groups and also rural people.
President of the Farmers’ Welfare Committee Masagali Reserve Forest A G Girish, general secretary of the KGF U M Theertha Mallesh, vice president K U Ratheesh, Avathi Growers’ Association Puttegowda, Kasaba Hobli Growers’ Association president M S Lingappa Gowda and Vastare Growers’ Association president T D Mallesh were present.