Residents of Bilikere hobli in Mysuru district have sought the removal of encroachments blocking access to a cremation ground reserved for the Scheduled Caste community, highlighting unresolved land and revenue disputes at a public grievance programme in the village.
The issue was raised during a Prajaseva programme held in Bilikere under the leadership of MLA G.D. Harish Gowda. A total of 190 petitions were submitted, most relating to the Revenue Department. Residents brought complaints involving road encroachments, corrections to land records, repairs and the absence of cultivation documents before Tahsildar Manjunath.
Swami, who raised the cremation-ground access issue, said the road leading to the cremation ground at the Bilikere hobli headquarters had been encroached upon. Applications had reportedly been submitted from the Deputy Commissioner’s office to the Tahsildar’s office seeking a survey and removal of the encroachment, but the problem remained unresolved.
The road is intended to serve a cremation ground reserved for the Scheduled Caste community. The complaint therefore combines an access problem with questions about the protection and use of land reserved for a public community facility. The report did not specify the extent of the encroachment, the names of alleged encroachers or the date on which a survey may be carried out.
The MLA told the Tahsildar to resolve the issue and said he had sanctioned funds from his legislator’s development fund for improving the road. The report did not provide the sanctioned amount, the proposed scope of work or a completion timeline. Any road improvement will depend on the access route being identified and the reported encroachment issue being addressed.
Another land-record complaint came from Shivamma of Wadeyar Hosahalli village. She said the land she had been cultivating was recorded as belonging to the cremation ground, while the site reserved for the cremation ground was recorded in her name. She said she had been visiting the Nadakacheri, or local revenue office, for six years seeking correction of both records.
The grievance meeting also exposed wider gaps in local public administration. Bilikere hobli headquarters does not have its own building for the Nadakacheri. Sathyappa, president of the Sathya Foundation, sought an upgrade for the village hospital and an ambulance service. Residents also raised concerns about the absence of a service road for local communities alongside the Mysuru-Kushalnagar National Highway, which is under construction.
Public dissatisfaction was also reported over the MLA’s delayed arrival at the Prajaseva programme. Residents objected that officials had received petitions instead of the programme being conducted in the presence of the elected representative as scheduled.
The meeting was attended by Tahsildar Manjunath, Taluk Panchayat executive officer Hongayya, Circle Inspector Puneeth, Block Education Officer Kalanayaka and local leaders. The immediate administrative step recorded in the report is the Tahsildar’s direction to address the cremation-ground road issue; the source did not state whether a survey or encroachment removal had subsequently begun.
