A delegation of residents of Shettyhalli and Chitra Shettyhalli that fall within the purview of Shettyhalli Wildlife Sanctuary led by Kagodu Thimmappa, former Minister, met K.B. Sivakumar, Deputy Commissioner, here on Wednesday and requested to shift the villages.
In the memorandum submitted to the DC, the villagers said Shettyhalli and Chitra Shettyhalli that were revenue villages were declared part of the sanctuary in 1976 without their consent.
After the declaration, permission has been denied for works related to upgrading civic amenities in villages including drawing electricity lines and upgrading the road that connects them with Shivamogga city, citing laws related to protection of forest and wildlife.
The lack of a power connection has hit agriculture operations, they said.
In the memorandum, the residents said crops cultivated by villagers were destroyed by wild animals regularly. The inhabitants of both villages have also become vulnerable to health problems including Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD), or monkey fever, they said.
They demanded to shift both villages to the vacant government land near Govindapura and Puradal villages in Shivamogga taluk. All necessary civic amenities should be provided at the new place and the farmers should be provided with the alternative land for what they cede. They have also demanded government jobs for one person from each family.
Mr. Thimmappa said families that were displaced from Sharavati hydel power project form a major chunk of the population of Shetthalli and Chitra Shettyhalli villages.
Owing to the restrictions on the upgrading of civic amenities, both villages have become uninhabitable. It forms the obligation of the government to rehabilitate the villagers at the vacant government land near Govindapura and Puradal and thereby bring them to the mainstream, he added.
