Karnataka: Farmer turns sanyasi for Mahadayi cause

Hubballi: Thirty-eight-year-old farmer leader Veeresh Sobaradmath has taken Sanyas Dheeksha for the cause of farmers as their long pending demand to get Mahadayi water has not been fulfilled. The farmer  has started an indefinite fast saying protests have failed to yield positive results due to the negligence of governments and elected representatives in the region.

Sobaradmath  has also established Raitha Peetha in an acre of land belonging to him in his native hamlet of Tirlapur village in Navalgund taluk. The Peetha will serve like other religious institutions or mutts to create awareness among the farming community. It has also been  serving as an old age home to provide shelter to senior citizens who have no children.

The farmer has been leading the life of a seer after taking Sanyas in the presence of prominent pontiffs. His day begins with pooja and other rituals in the morning. Wearing white attire with a green shawl thrown across his shoulder, he takes part in the movement and addresses the problems confronting farmers He is considered the first Swamiji who has taken Sanyas for the cause of farmers.

Earlier, Sobaradmath had plunged into the Mahadayi movement after establishing Raitha Sene and filed a public interest litigation in the Supreme Court in 2012 seeking Karnataka’s share of water. He started taking part in various movements at a young age in 1996 and worked for some Hindu organizations initially. Later, he became active in the Mahadayi movement.

Several farmer leaders, who had been in the forefront of the agitation, have entered politics but later took the side of their parties sidelining the interests of poor farmers. Such developments prompted him to take Sanyas to work for farmers, said the farmer-seer.