The Karnataka government is contemplating rehabilitation of families residing within the Sharavati Valley Wildlife Sanctuary by bringing them out of the forest area, while the residents have been fighting for basic amenities within their existing villages for over six decades.
Based on a letter written by Sagar MLA Belur Gopalakrishna of the Congress, Minister for Forest Eshwar Khandre recently wrote to his department to look into the rehabilitation of families located in parts of Uralagallu, Kanur, and Meghane villages in Sagar taluk. Later, however, sensing resistance from residents, the MLA changed his stand and maintained that he would not support any move to evict them. Instead, he said, he would get them basic amenities within their villages.
Following the construction of the Linganamakki dam across the Sharavati to generate electricity in the 1960s, hundreds of families were displaced as many villages were submerged. The affected families moved to different locations in search of a better life. Some moved to Uralagallu, Meghane, Kanur, and other villages and settled there over the decades.
