'We will deposit firearms, appoint police to protect crops'| Mangaluru farmers to initiate 'Dial 112' campaign

The Sangha has decided to approach the court against depositing of firearms. Owing to lack of firearms, Rathnakar Suvarna from Agari in Savanoor was attacked by wild boar. The district administration should bear the expenses of his treatment, he demanded.

Mangaluru: Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) and Hasiru Sene district president Sridhar Shetty Bailuguthu said that depositing firearms that were licensed to protect farms from wild animals during the election is 'meaningless.'

All those possessing firearms have been asked to deposit it either in police stations or in the licensed arms dealer ahead of Lok Sabha election as per ECI guidelines.

A campaign to call the Emergency Response Support System 112 will be launched if the farms are attacked by animals, he said.

He said the campaign will be launched with tagline 'we will deposit fire arms, appoint police to protect crops.'

"We deposit firearms during the election. The fire arms will be returned back after three months. Many a time, fire arms gets damaged as well. If you go by the history, there is no example of any incident of farmers using firearms during an election," he added.

The Sangha has also decided to approach the court against depositing of firearms. Owing to lack of firearms, Rathnakar Suvarna from Agari in Savanoor was attacked by wild boar. The district administration should bear the expenses of his treatment, he demanded.

There are 1700 licensed arms in the Mangaluru City Police commissionerate limits. There are around 9000 licensed arms in DK police limits.