200 families fight for government support to move from Kudremukh National Park | Mangaluru News

Udupi: Gangadhar Gowda, president of the Udupi District Malekudiyara SanghaHe said that despite more than 30 years having passed since Kudremukh was designated a national park and 50 families were relocated from the protected area, government support for their resettlement has been minimal.
He told reporters on Friday that approximately 200 more families submitted applications seeking relocation and rehabilitation from Kudremukh National Park. However, these applications remained unprocessed by the forest department for five years, he said.
The encounter of Naxalite Vikram Gowda by the ANF team highlights the susceptibility of Malekudiya communities towards Maoist activities. “Although the Malekudiya people reject Naxalism, the government’s indifference towards their well-being remains worrying. The administration needs to ensure essential infrastructure, including roads and bridges, and implement progressive plans for their holistic development. For the 200 families seeking relocation from the national park, the government should provide a minimum of two acres per family, along with access to education, employment and healthcare services,” Gowda urged.
He pointed out that the forest department lacks funds to support these 200 families who are ready for rehabilitation. “This reflects the government’s inadequate attention to the needs and well-being of the tribal population,” Gowda said.
Shridhara Gowda, state president of Malekudiyara Sangha, said the government had failed to meet the decade-old demands of a bridge in Mattavu from Mudradi GP, electricity connections to houses in Muranthabailu and lack of complete roads in Eedu and Nadpalu. The tribal community delegations met the concerned ministers and officials several times, he said.
He alleged that law enforcement agencies deny forest dwellers the right to collect minor forest produce. “The government needs to intervene and find solutions to the problem as forest dwellers have no other source of income,” he added.
Meeting: Forum demands judicial investigation
The probe team, comprising members of the Coordination of Democratic Rights Organizations (CDRO) and other organisations, demanded that a judicial commission be set up under the leadership of a sitting judge of the Supreme Court to probe the encounter of Naxal Vikram Gowda.
The CDRO in a statement stated that the murder of Vikram Gowda is a cold-blooded murder. They demanded that the police register an FIR against the ANF as per the guidelines of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and withdrawal of paramilitary forces from the tribal areas.