For the last three years, more than 70 families, of which a majority are from Hasalaru, a tribal community, have been living in makeshift tents near Kalasa in Chikkamagaluru district with no basic amenities like road, electricity and proper shelter.
All plantation workers at the estates in nearby villages, they were earlier provided with shelter by the estate owners. However, heavy rains that lashed parts of the district in 2019 rendered these families homeless. The estate owners asked them to leave the houses in the workers’ colony and make their own arrangements for shelter.
“With no place of our own, we put up tents in Survey Number 153 of Mavinakere and have been staying there since. We had applied to the panchayat seeking sanction of the same land for our dwelling. Though four acres have been sanctioned, we have not got our title deeds yet,” said Sanjeev, a member of the community.
Makeshift tents dot the land where the families have been living for the last three years without proper roads, water or electricity. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
The Chikkamagaluru district administration had identified 12 acres of land at Mavinakere for rehabilitation of those affected by the floods. Of that, four acres have been allotted to these people. Despite meeting the people’s representatives and officers several times with their plea, their demands remain unfulfilled.
Kusuma, a resident of the locality, said her community people had no supply of water. “We have drilled a well on our own. Now, during the rains, we are harvesting rainwater. If our children miss the only bus in the morning, they have to go to their school at Kalasa on foot,” she said.
The beleaguered families began an indefinite protest on Monday in front of the taluk office in Kalasa asking to be granted rights over the land. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Protest at taluk office
The beleaguered families began an indefinite protest on Monday in front of the taluk office in Kalasa fighting for their demands. They want senior officers to visit their place and take necessary measures to ensure them basic facilities. “If they grant us rights over our land, we can somehow build our houses. The government should also improve connectivity with neighbouring villages,” Sanjeev said.
They protested holding banners and posters seeking justice. They also raised slogans against the taluk administration for not addressing their demands.
