Kumta: “If elected representatives do not need forest dwellers then even forest dwellers do not need them. So, forest dwellers are thinking of boycotting the coming Lok Sabha elections,” said Forest Dwellers’ Forum District president A Ravindra Naik.
Speaking at the ‘Jail Bharo’ protest by forest encroachers in Kumta on Saturday, he alleged said that the State government had voluntarily given land in the district to Tibetans to lead a life but it was not interested in taking the legal route to ensure land to Indian citizens in the State. “The government is giving house number and electricity facility to the encroachers. But sadly, it is not giving the land to lead a life,” he said.
He alleged that the Centre’s lawyer was missing from three hearings related to the matter in the Supreme Court. Sirsi assistant commissioner had rejected around 10,000 applications filed by the forest dwellers on a single day.
The conservator of forest of Sirsi circle, in a report submitted to the government, has falsely claimed that 5,621 families dwelling on 3,152 hectare forest land had been evacuated. He then complained that poor encroachers were being meted injustice due to such officers.
He said that forest dwellers were neither terrorists nor naxals. But they would not keep quiet if the authorities snatch their land/livelihood. “Forest dwellers will give up their lives but not their forest land,”, he said expressing ire.
The member of parliament representing the district, two MLAs and 113 other elected representatives had encroached the forest land but nothing was being done to evacuate them, Naik alleged without directly naming any leader.
Apart from Naik, Chandrakanth Kocharekar, Suresh Mesta, Inayatullah Shabandri, Naseer Khan, Ram Moger and others also spoke on the occasion and forest dwellers who had gathered from across the district carefully lent ears to the speech braving scorching heat.
Later, they took out a peaceful procession in Kumta and voluntarily let the police arrest them and take them to the jails.
Suraj Naik, Krishnanand Vernekar, Manju Marathi, Mahendra Naik, Mohiddin Altaf and others were present.