Southern States
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Karnataka
Evacuees left high and dry
By Our Staff Correspondent
MANGALORE
FEB.1
. Over 3,000 families, who had given their land for the construction of the New Mangalore Port (NMP) in 1963-64, are still homeless, even after 35 years.
Nearly15,000 people belonging to these families, which have been displaced by the NMP project, are still hoping for compensation.
Many aged persons of these families have died, and some of them have left for other places in search of jobs. Many were farmers with two to three acres of land, and some were beedi rollers, toddy tappers and fishermen living at Panambur, Baikampady, Kulur, and Thaneerbavi villages.
In 1964, the Government acquired 1,200 acres of land, and in 1965 it acquired 2,500 acres, which had been allotted to various concerns, including the NMP, Thaneerbavi Barge-mounted Power Project, and the APMC yard.
Speaking to The Hindu, Sundar Shetty, leader of the evacuees, said: "We were motivated by the fiery speech of U.Srinivas Mallya, who appealed to us to give our land for the New Mangalore Port which, he said, was a national project and the gateway for the development of Mysore State." In return, the Government distributed 12.5 cents each to the displaced families at Krishnapur, which was a rocky hillock. Many obtained loans for building houses, but could not, and defaults on the loans meant they had to forfeit the land.
For 35 years, the local politicians used the issue for personal gains, and won elections, but nothing was done to help the displaced families, Mr. Shetty said. These people were farmers, and they did not know how to do anything else. Some of them had taken up beedi rolling, but the "feudal attitude" of the contractors made them quit the job.
Dharmendra, General Secretary of the district unit of the Samata Party, said some "Chalgeni" holders got a good deal from the Government after the 1974 land reforms, but the "Mulageni" holders and "Chalgeni" holders before 1974 got nothing but a fraction of the land which they had surrendered.
He said it was time that the NMP, which was a profit-making firm, came to the rescue of the displaced families.
Mr. Dharmendra and Mr. Shetty will organise a meeting of the members of the displaced families on Sunday to chalk out a plan to get them compensation on the lines of that given in the case of the Sea Bird Naval Project and the Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals Ltd. At least 400 people are expected to attend the meeting.
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