Protesters allege govt apathy for long pending demands of Koragas

Udupi: The day-and-night dharna satyagraha demanding direct recruitment to government jobs for youth from the Koraga community entered its 20th day on Saturday in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office, with protesters alleging continued government apathy towards their long-pending demand.

Addressing a press conference at the protest site, Sushila Nada, President of the Koraga Development Organisations Federation of Karnataka–Kerala, said that despite sustained agitation, there has been no response from either the government or the district administration. She warned that the protest would be intensified in the coming days if their demand is not addressed.

“There is no political will to provide employment to Koraga youth as we are not a dominant community and do not offer vote-bank advantages. The entire system is showing an indifferent attitude towards us,” she said.

Highlighting the special status of the community, Sushila Naad pointed out that the Koragas are classified as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG). In Karnataka, only the Koraga and Jenu Kuruba communities fall under this category, while there are just 75 such communities across the country. She said there is a legal provision to provide government jobs to PVTG communities through direct recruitment.

Recalling earlier assurances, she said that about one-and-a-half years ago, a 10-day protest was held with the same demand, following which Speaker UT Khader visited the site and assured employment, leading to the withdrawal of the agitation. Later, the Chief Minister was also approached and assurances were given, but no concrete action has followed so far.

She also criticised the government’s decision announced in the last budget to include all 13 Scheduled Tribe communities for employment opportunities. “Our demand is that only PVTG communities should be included. As a highly vulnerable community, we cannot compete with relatively stronger tribal groups. Including all of them together will once again deprive us of opportunities,” she said.

Sushila Nada noted that several youths from the Koraga community hold higher educational qualifications, including MA, BEd, MSW, MCA, MSc and MBA, yet none have secured government jobs and are forced to take up small private employment.

She further alleged that despite orders issued by former Deputy Commissioners to give priority to Koraga candidates during recruitment, not a single Koraga youth was appointed while filling 200–300 vacant posts across 36 departments, including ITDP, on an outsourcing basis.