Challakere: As the public agitation against the Science City near Challakere in Chitradurga district gains momentum with the support of various social organisations, the talk of the town is whether Kuruba strongman Siddaramaiah will take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stop this project?
The Kurubas, who are shepherds and cattle herders by profession, live in about 70 villages and will be the biggest losers once the Science City comes up by diverting 10,000 acres of Amruth Mahal Kaval grazing pastures. “CM Siddaramaiah is a Kuruba, we believe that he will not let fellow Kurubas down for this project”, says shepherd Bheerappa in Doddaularthi village.
People here say that PM Modi during his visit to Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru last year, had given his green signal for the project despite local opposition as he reportedly wants to make this place a hub to provide an extra stockpile of enriched uranium fuel that could be used in hydrogen bombs.
The majority of local shepherds, with whom Deccan Chronicle interacted, felt Siddaramaiah must send a strong message to his community that he is determined to safeguard the interest of shepherds by canceling the order granting grazing land to the science hub. “We presented him a woolen blanket and stood by him when he launched his political outfit-Akhila Bharatiya Pragatipara Janata Dal after quitting JD(S), with small donations in 2006-07”, says Thippeswamy, a shepherd from Kudapura village.
Hanumanthappa of the Amrit Mahal Kaval Hitarakshana Horata Samiti says, the consent of the district planning committee, local panchayats and urban local bodies was not taken prior to the diversion of land. Despite many representations to the CM, he has been silent on the issue.
The people’s agitation is likely to gain momentum after leaders of various social organisations called for a mass struggle for saving the grassland at a public interaction at Challakere on Tuesday. The affected communities include Kurubas, Gollas, Nayakas, Lambanis and Dalits, who have been involved in agricultural activities for generations and have now been kept out with massive walls and fences put up by institutions in the grassland.
C. Yatiraju of Tumakuru Science Centre, said that if unopposed, such development works of the government would enter villages too. “We have been supplying meat, blankets, wool, milk, millets, grain, fruits, vegetables and oilseeds. Does it not contribute to nation-building?” questions, Ullavarthy Kariyanna, a cattle herder. “We are not against the establishment of a nuclear or hydrogen bomb plant but let it be set up in Rajasthan, not Chitradurga,” says Manjanna, a graduate from Kudapura.
