Mangalore, October 2: The DK DC A B Ibrahim chaired a meeting with SC/ST leaders at his office on September 30th, and revealed that order was passed on July 13th this year to check the misappropriation of the DC manna land, other than allotting it to the Dalits.Dalit leaders had plaint that, many DC manna lands have been handed over to educational institutions and compensatory land has not been granted elsewhere. Responding to their grievance the DC said, the same proportion of land ought to be reserved elsewhere if the DC manna land is to be used for other purposes.
False rules: Dalit leaders plained that the officials of Mangalore City Corporation seek a notification from corporators. If the letter is not submitted along with the application, the application is neither accepted nor sanctioned and in this way the MCC officials are troubling Dalits. The leaders said, it was against the rules and there were no such official orders. They revealed that while submitting an application to MCC, one has to go in search of the corporator. They alleged that the MCC officials have become the puppets under the hands of elected representatives. The DC directed the Urban Cell President Takat Rao to seek a written explanation from the officials concerned for following such rules.
K R Rao Bhavan: The Dalit leaders alleged that though the government has granted an amount of Rs one crore towards the construction of the Kudmul Ranga Rao Bhavan, the work has not been initiated. A building built in the name of Kudmul Ranga Rao, around 10 years ago in Kodikal, is ruined.
The leaders said, Ambedkar Commercial complex near PVS circle is not maintained well and the sole purpose of the building has failed as non-Dalits have been provided the commercial stalls on rental basis, even though it is reserved for SC/STs. The DC insisted the social welfare officer to take measure to ensure that the shops will be allotted only to SC/ST on rental basis at the Ambedkar commercial complex.
Halt using ‘Harijana’: The leaders objected on mentioning the word ‘Harijana’ in government documents including RTCs. The DC said that as per the order dated October 10th, 2004 issued by the Government of Karnataka, the words Harijana and alike should not be used. Post the distribution of RTCs in urban areas to Dalits, the DC directed the MCC officials to distribute the pending RTCs to the beneficiaries within November 1st.
The Dalit leaders requested DC to take appropriate measures to initiate various progressive activities in Banjarmale like erecting Anganwadi, polling booth etc. The RTC’s un-availability to Dalits in Mulki, hassle faced by education loan aspirants from Ambedkar Abhivruddhi Nigama staff; Ration Card renewal problems etc were also discussed.
In this meeting, Sadashiv Prabhu ADC and Vishnuvardhan- DCP (Law and Order) and a considerable number of audience was present.
