Farmers hold hunger strike against Artificial flood in Kota
Kundapur: The artificial flood affected farmers of Manooru, Gililar, Chitrapadi, and Bannadi Karkala Grama Panchayat limits and the farmers staged a hunger strike at the Kota Shri Hiremahalingeshwara Devasthana Jatra Maidan on Wednesday from 9 am to 5:30 pm, demanding various rights.
Speaking on the occasion, former Chairman of the Legislative Council Pratapchandra Shetty said, “We are being crushed by the neglect of mechanical farming. We have realized that this is our failure. We should bring our problems here and make decisions in the Grama Sabha. There are many ways to meet our demands. The Panchayat can do what the department is not doing”.
“The Varahi Irrigation Project, which was supposed to bring water to Mabukal, has been ongoing for 45 years but has not been completed yet. Now, the project has been modified to supply water to Udupi, Karkala, Kapu, and Byndoor, leaving Kota out of the project”, he said.
The Udupi District Commissioner, Dr Vidya Kumari, visited the spot and accepted the memorandum from the protesters, requesting them to end the hunger strike. However, the farmers continued the strike until 5 pm.
The hunger strike was led by senior farmer Shanadi Srinivas Bhat. Congress leaders Molahalli Dinesh Hegde, Malyadi Shivrao Shetty, and industrialist Anand C. Kundar, among others, were present.
The committee’s president T Manjunath Gilliyar presented the proposal. The program was welcomed and conducted by committee member Keertish Poojary. Tight police security was provided at the spot.
The District Commissioner Dr Vidya Kumari said that she would send the farmers’ memorandum to the Chief Minister as early as possible. We have understood all the problems and will make a sincere effort to resolve them. The proposal for Checkdam will be sent to the state government through the Minor Irrigation Department. Similarly, a special package for crop damage will be sent to the Agriculture Department. A team of senior geologists from the Mining Department and officials from the Agriculture Department will be sent to inspect the soil removal and submit a report. Action will be taken in the coming days, she said”.
“The farmers’ demands include:
– Identifying the riverbed of the Suladpu-Madisalu stream from Malyadi to Hosala’s Nagaramatha Check Dam and removing the silt.
– Replacing the low-lying bridges at Kokkuru, Suladpu, and Bailoor with pillar bridges.
– Completely removing the gates installed at the Kudrumane Dam and Hosala’s Nagaramatha Check Dam during the monsoon season.
– Conducting a survey by a team of experts to address the artificial flood issue in the area and implementing the project within a timeframe.
– Announcing a special relief package for farmers who have suffered crop losses due to artificial flooding.