Mounesh Vishwakarma
Daijiworld Media Network - Bantwal
Bantwal, Jan 28: The indefinite dharna staged by Koraga development organisations demanding land allocation and sanction of land for a community hall came to an end on January 27 evening after Bantwal tahsildar Manjunath visited the protest site and assured appropriate action.
The protest was organised in front of the Bantwal taluk office under the joint banner of the Koraga Abhivrudhi Sanghagalu Okkoota (Regd), Karnataka–Kerala, and the Koraga Development Association, Bantwal taluk. The demonstrators had launched the indefinite dharna from Tuesday morning, pressing for agricultural land for Koraga families and the allotment of land for the construction of a Koraga community hall.
Responding to the sustained protest, marked by the beating of traditional Koraga drums, the tahsildar visited the spot in the evening, accepted the memorandum submitted by the community representatives and assured them that the demands would be discussed with the district commissioner and that necessary steps would be initiated. He also advised the protest leaders to submit all relevant documents directly to the office and to closely monitor the follow-up process to ensure progress.
Koraga Abhivrudhi Sanghagalu Okkoota Karnataka–Kerala state president Sushila Nada briefed the tahsildar in detail about the long-pending issues faced by the community. She stated that at least 18 Koraga families in the taluk continue to be deprived of land ownership rights and urged the administration to immediately facilitate land allotment and issue title deeds to eligible families.
She further pointed out that although 11 cents of land had been earmarked in 2014 for the construction of a Koraga community hall, the RTC has not yet been issued, resulting in repeated delays. She appealed to the authorities to resolve the departmental hurdles at the earliest and initiate steps for the construction of the community hall.
She also noted that most government welfare schemes are land-based and that the absence of land ownership has severely hampered the development of Koraga families, making it difficult for them to avail benefits under various schemes.
The protest leaders warned that if the issues are not resolved at the earliest, the community would resume a large-scale day-and-night agitation on February 27.
State secretary Naveen, district coordinator Putra K, taluk president Ramesh, women’s president Lalitha, secretary Sheena, Puttur association member Babu and several members of the Koraga community were present.