Determined villagers bring reinforcement in herds, battling for grazing lands.
The last time, they had come in droves. This time, they brought their herds too.
Over 1,000 people from 80 villages in Chitradurga district on Thursday flocked to Chitradurga town in protest against the massive diversion of around 10,000 acres of Amrithmahal Kavals land in Challakere taluk of the district for a variety of industrial, defence, institutional and infrastructure projects. The communities, whose livelihood primarily depend on livestock that they graze on these grasslands, herded together 4,000 heads of sheep at the protest rally.
The villagers, under the banner of Bruhat Kurigala Pratibhatane, marched from the Government Science College to the DC’s office in Chitradurga.
Addressing the rally, author Banjagere Jayaprakash said the state and Union governments should reconsider the decision of diverting the kavals (grazing grasslands), and take necessary steps to restore access for the communities. Meese Mahalingappa, zilla parishad member and president of the Nomadic Shepherds Association, said the struggle to preserve the kavals will intensify until they get the lands back.
Karianna, gram panchayat member from Dodda Ullarthi, alleged that false documents had been submitted in the court and previous court rulings had been flouted to approve these projects. He said the officials guilty of this should be suspended immediately.
Trouble has been brewing in the region district ever since it came to light that huge tracts of the ecologically-fragile landscape had been silently diverted for defence, nuclear and industrial projects. What had been shocking was that only were a number of environmental and forest laws flouted brazenly, but also that this was done in a surreptitious manner.
The first rebuff came when the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on March 21 constituted a two-member fact-finding committee to determine the ecological and environmental consequences of this land diversion, after the Karnataka government and the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) failed to respond to its queries.
When the two-member team visited the area in May, it became clear that the people angle was just about beginning to emerge. The fact that not a single gram sabha was held or a single gram panchayat member consulted before deciding on the diversion was condemned by many villagers. People specifically mentioned that when the project was started, they were misled by the project proponents and other authorities that this project would bring many jobs and much development and that the kavals would be blocked was not really highlighted. Public hearings were held on the May 24 and 25 at Dodda Ullarthi, Bharmasagara, Nayakanahatti and Neralagunte where people of surrounding villages were invited.
The rally concluded with the submission of a memorandum to the DC. He accepted it, and assured that until court orders are passed, access to the kavals will be restored.
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