4 days ago
'Forcibly evicted from forest', Jenu Kurubas seek end to oppression
Adivasi families who have urged the government to recognise their rights in the Nagarahole Tiger Reserve on Sunday demanded an end to the injustice and 50 families belonging to the Jenu Kuruba community have pitched tents in the Karadikallu Atturu Kolli, claiming that the area is their ancestral land. To mark World Indigenous Day, they issued a detailed statement on Sunday, highlighting the failure of the government to restore their communities have alleged that they have been forcibly evicted from the release stated that despite filing claims since 2011 for recognition of various rights, the same have been rejected by the authorities on arbitrary grounds..'This historical injustice has pushed our communities and families into bondage in nearby coffee plantations owned by dominant caste groups. Historically, thousands of our family members were violently evicted from our ancestral lands and pushed into destitution while the tiger reserve authorities continue to promote commercial tourism,' the release Kurubas to get foodgrains during Monsoon.'Illegal' pvt said resorts have been offering private safaris, which is illegal, charging tourists exorbitant amounts..'We condemn this corrupt alliance between private tourism operators, coffee plantation-based resorts and tiger reserve authorities,' it said, seeking an investigation into the matter..J A Shivu, president of the Karadikallu Forest Rights Committee, said the government had to restore their rights and withdraw all cases filed against members of the community..'Since Nagarahole is an adivasi-populated region, there is an immediate need to declare it a fifth schedule region and implement the provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996,' said one of the demands in the charter to be submitted to the chief minister.
