The 577 families of the Diddalli and Thattalli Adivasis in Kodagu, who had recently lost their homes, have bagged a small victory, although their struggle seems to be a larger one.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, on Monday, told media persons that he would talk to the Revenue and Forest minsters and secretaries regarding the possibility of allotting them land in the reserved forest area.
“On Monday, the Minister in charge of the district, M R Seetharam, after holding several rounds of talks with the tribals and officials, said that a temporary solution would be chalked out within a week,” said Padma SJ of the Bhumi Mattu Vasathi Vanchakara Horata Samiti.
She also said that Seetharam, MP Pratap Simha, BJP MLA KG Bopanna, Zilla Parishad President BA Harish, District BJP President Manu Muthappa, District Congress ex-President B T Pradeep, District Congress President T P Ramesh and MLC Veena Achaiah were also present at the meeting.
“The CM’s announcement is the only relief but Pratap Simha clearly told us that even if PM Modi tells us to allot land in this area it is not possible as it is forest land,” Padma added.
The Adivasis have been allowed to stay on the vacant land in temporary huts. During the meeting, it was decided that drinking water, food and toilets would be provided for them under the Integrated Tribal Development Project, she said.
The families will also be given Aadhaar cards and BPL cards to gain access to food through the department. However, the situation remains grave as some leaders are not happy with this solution, especially the tribals and their leaders.
Initially, the leaders had refused to even hold talks with the tribals. However, the activists announced a Madikere Chalo protest on December 22, where all the 3,000 Adivasis and their supporters would walk from Diddalli to Madikere and put forth their demands. They also said that if this move did not work, they would hold a Bengaluru Chalo movement.