Dalits stage protest

Dalits of Ganguru in Arkalgud taluk on Sunday staged a protest against the Forest Department and succeeded in sending back staff members without planting trees in the reserved forest land, which they

Dalits of Ganguru in Arkalgud taluk on Sunday staged a protest against the Forest Department and succeeded in sending back staff members without planting trees in the reserved forest land, which they cultivated for decades. The protesters, who were freed as bonded labourers in 1994, have been demanding a grant of land for cultivation. They cultivated a part of Gubbali Reserve Forest near Goruru, despite opposition from the department. The department took over the forest land amidst protest by them on April 1. As the department had planned to take plantation work in the land on Sunday, the families staged a dharna. They maintained that they would not allow the department to plant trees arguing that they had cultivated the land for decades. The staff members returned without taking up any work.