Chikkamagaluru: Rambhapuri Mutt seer Prasanna Renuka Veera Someshwara Shivacharya Swami Thursday extended his support to the agitation against the implementation of the Kasturirangan report.Addressing a protest rally in Balehonnur, the seer said several problems plague Malnad and the lack of prompt efforts to resolve them has aggravated the situation. He called upon people to be united and make collective efforts to oppose the report.He said he would bring Malnad’s issues to the notice of chief minister DK Shivakumar, Union ministers HD Kumaraswamy, Pralhad Joshi and V Somanna, and make prompt efforts in this regard.The seer said 1,449 villages in the Western Ghats have been identified as eco-sensitive under the Kasturirangan report, of which 132 villages are in this region. If the recommendations are implemented, living here will become a mirage as agriculture, plantations and development activities will be restricted.Though all govts in Karnataka have rejected the recommendations, the seventh draft notification has created panic among people, he said. He noted that rural people need more awareness about the report and are slowly understanding its implications.“There should be no politics in education, health and development. Whichever govt is in power, it must understand Malnad’s problems. Now we can combat this only if we are united,” he said.Expressing displeasure over the absence of ministerial representation for Malnad, the seer said a local MLA should have been given a ministerial berth to resolve the region’s issues.Activist Diganth Bimbail said people need protection from stringent anti-people policies framed during British rule that continue even now. He said the govt system itself damaged the Western Ghats in the name of development and that people had protested against various destructive projects.Environmentalists Kalkuli Vittal Hegde and Ramesh Hegde also aired their views. MLA TD Rajegowda, MLC Gayatri Shantegowda and others were present.
