Farmers and members of the Malenadu Janahitha Rakshana Vedike protested in Kadaba against the implementation of the Kasturirangan report, alleging that the Forest and Revenue departments were misleading elected representatives and depriving farming communities of their rights.
The protest was held in Kadaba on Wednesday. Speaking at the demonstration, forum state president Kishore Shiradi said the organisation possessed land records dating back to 1889 and would not allow officials to mislead farmers who had cultivated the area for generations.
Shiradi alleged that departments issuing notices to farmers should be resisted and claimed that implementation of the report would affect places of worship, invalidate rights documents issued to residents and threaten the livelihoods of families living in the region. He said the group was prepared to make sacrifices to prevent the report from being implemented.
The Kasturirangan report has remained a contentious issue in parts of the Western Ghats, where environmental protection proposals have been opposed by residents who fear restrictions on agriculture, land use and construction. The protest leaders said their organisation had been conducting a peaceful campaign against the report for 13 years, but that the concerns had resurfaced whenever draft notifications were issued.
Former Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat member Syed Meera Saheb said governments had begun responding to the issue after years of protests, but called for the movement to be strengthened. He urged Members of Parliament from the region to oppose the report in the Lok Sabha and said the campaign should continue until the report was completely rejected.
Saheb also called for demonstrations outside government departments if the protesters’ demands were not addressed. Forum coordinator Mohammed Ali said the group had reached a point at which it was considering changing the nature of its agitation, while demanding that the Union government withdraw the Kasturirangan report in full.
Other speakers included forum office-bearers Lokaiah Dolpadi, Kusappa Gowda Muguppu and former Taluk Panchayat president Pulastya Rai. Ramananda Ennemajalu welcomed the gathering and Nithin Balikkala proposed a vote of thanks.
The protesters’ statements reflect the continuing conflict between environmental regulation in the Western Ghats and the concerns of farming communities over land records, government notices and livelihood security. The report does not establish any new implementation order or departmental decision arising from the protest. The forum said it would continue its agitation until its demand for complete withdrawal of the report was accepted.
