Tribals from Hunsur, Periyapatana and HD Kote, seeking rehabilitation and land grant, staged a demonstration in the city on Monday, March 20, pressing for early resolution of their pending demands.
The tribal leaders also teamed with Dalit activists under the banner of Karnataka Dalit Chaluvali Navanirmana Vedike as they had common grievances and each expressed solidarity to the cause of the other.
They raised a common demand for extending internal reservations for both SCs and STs on the grounds that the dominant groups were cornering the major chunk of benefits leaving out the microscopic minorities and the more vulnerable sections.
The tribals, on their part, raised issues related to implementation of Forest Rights Act to grant access to minor forest products, places of religious worship and burial grounds in their traditional forest lands.
S. Sreekanth of Development through Education said that though the Adivasi communities were engaged in agriculture in their present lands since the last 70 years, the government had failed to grant them the titled deeds as a result of which they were deprived of access to institutional finance. There are nearly 13,000 families in Mysuru district who are yet to be granted forest rights. The families were spread across 219 hamlets while the more vulnerable tribal groups were Jenu Kurubas who were in 164 hamlets and their rights have to be recognised, said Mr. Sreekanth.
The agitating tribals also sought the implementation of the Muzaffar Assadi report as per which 3,418 tribal families have to be suitably rehabilitated. Mr. Sreekanth said they also wanted the government to extend the provisions of the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas Act so that there was tribal self-government in areas where the tribal population was high. This would help revive the tribal culture and also ensure development, he added.
The agitating activists also drew the attention to the growing pollution of Lakshmanteertha river in Hunsur and demanded a project to address pollution and rejuvenate the river. Lakshmanteertha river helps fill up nearly 40 large water bodies and hence, its conservation was imperative for the region, according to the activists.
