Karnataka: Don't have even basic amenities at Bedagudda, say tribals

Mysuru: While the over 2,500 tribals, including women and children,  evicted from the Diddalli forests, are being relocated in Bedagudda,   the government has failed to provide them even the basic amenities here. Except for a small shamiana with four rooms and an open tank for drinking water, there is little else for them.

The women are the worst off as there are a mere eight toilets and two bathrooms for a 1,000 of them being relocated to the spot.

MLA Appachu Ranjan, who visited the tribals, took Kodagu Deputy Commissioner Richard Vincent D Souza to task for the poor arrangements made for them.

“When the Revenue Minister had assured the tribals of land in Diddalli, why were they evicted? Where is the land to be given for farming in Bedagudda? Why were they relocated and dumped here without making any arrangements for their stay? Are they animals to be treated like this?” he demanded, warning that he may complain to the national human righst commission about the way the tribals were being treated.

Tribal leader Muthamma too protested the lack of facilities at Bedagudda. “Today people protest even on behalf of animals, but we are humans. How can the government treat us like this? We were brutally evacuated from Diddalli, brought like animals in lorries  and then dumped in Bedagudda, where even our basic needs are not met,” she said.