The Jana Dani Samavesha, a convention of Malnad people on their rights to land grants held at Balehonnur in N.R. Pura taluk on Sunday, urged the State government to ensure the landless get the lands granted to them and forest dwellers are not evicted.
Eddelu Karnataka (Wake Up Karnataka), a civil society collective, organised the conventionin association with Dalit Sangharsha Samiti, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, Janashakti, and other progressive organisations.
Writer and activist Kalkuli Vittal Hegde, addressing the gathering, opined that court orders on forests had been the root cause of the problems being faced by the Malnad people. Unless the judgements were challenged, the people of the region would not get their due. From time immemorial, locals have conserved the forests. “However, now, the government is forcing the forest dwellers to move out in the name of conserving forests. The recent policies in the guise of conserving forests have ruined the lives of common people,” he said.
