Udupi: The Kasturirangan Varadi Virodhi Horata Samiti (Anti-Kasturirangan Report Committee), organized a ‘Bandh’ against the recommendations of the Kasturirangan Report on conservation of the western ghats on Wednesday December 17.
More than 3000 members from different villages and organizations participated in the protest and shouted slogans against the Kasturirangan panel.
All the shops were closed; buses were forced to stop services for the day. Even Shivamogga busses were blocked and diverted to other routes.
President of the Samiti – Naveen Adyanthaya, while addressing the protest meet said that none of the officials, who were assigned to prepare a report and adhere to it have visited the villages, yet. Apart from this, the ones that came earlier hardly had any knowledge about the problems faced by local people. He stressed on the people present, to say ‘NO’ to the report and warned the officials involved in it to stop confusing the villagers.
One of the samiti members – lawyer T Balachandra Shetty said, “We are not against the protection of the Western Ghats, however central government has asked the opinion from state, and the state government should take a detailed report from the district committee.”
“The members of the district committee should have a meeting with the local public after involving each and every individual in it. After which they can proceed if it is not affecting the farmers who have been here for generations.”
On the occasion Muttlupadi Sathish Shetty, an advocate from Kundapura said that the Kasturirangan Report is a complete mishap.
He said, “The problem starts with Kasturirangan himself. He is an Indian space scientist turned environmentalist. He has least knowledge about the concerned subject and he did not even show the courtesy to reach the villagers and find out their problems.”
The report had been prepared merely on the basis of satellite images, he said.
He demanded that government should first decide the boundary areas under the reserve forests and then impose these measures on the wild forest. Villagers must not suffer, he asserted
