Rural women protesting in Raichur on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Thousands of rural labourers, mostly women, arrived from different villages in Raichur and other neighbouring districts and staged a rally and a demonstration in Raichur on Saturday demanding prohibition, better education and other demands.
Organised under the banner of the Joint Action Committee of Progressive Organisations, a common platform of different civil society groups, the women gathered at the district stadium in the morning. They later marched to the office of the Deputy Commissioner. Throughout the procession, they raised slogans against the government, condemning it for showing little interest in genuine issues of the people. The agitators blocked the road outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office for hours.
Key demands
Their key demands included quality education in government schools, measures to address malnutrition in rural areas, safe drinking water, a survey of people affected by Devadasi practice and complete prohibition.
Addressing the huge gathering, leaders Mokshamma, Virupamma, Vidya Patil, Abhay Kumar and others condemned the successive governments for not paying attention to the serious issues that the people in the State, especially in backward Kalyana Karnataka region, were facing.
15 years
“We have been fighting for the last 15 years putting forward the same demands. However, successive governments are indifferent to our problems. Over 30 lakh people are suffering from anaemia and malnutrition. Thousands of teaching posts in government schools across the region have been lying vacant for decades. Many schools don’t have subject teachers. In our survey, we found that 75% of the teaching posts in government schools are vacant and temporarily managed by guest teachers. These are serious issues that are affecting the population in the region. The government is, however, doing nothing to address them,” Vidya Patil said during the agitation.
Devadasi practice
Mokshamma, another leader, shed light on the issues the women affected by the Devadasi practice in the region and demanded a survey on the issue.
“There is a need to conduct a survey on the Devadasi practice and get clarity on the issues faced by the Devadasis. The government should pay the scholarships to the children of Devadasis. The government has allocated the funds in the budget. However, the Karnataka State Women’s Development Corporation and Women and Child Development Department have not disbursed the scholarships in the last nine months,” she said.
Deputy Commissioner Nitish K. and Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Rahul Pandve met the agitating women and heard their demands. The agitation leaders read out the memorandum before them in public before handing it over to them.
Vidya Patil said that most of the RO (Reverse Osmosis) plants installed in the villages were defunct depriving the vast rural population of their right to access to safe drinking water. “The people’s representatives from Kalyana Karnataka, including members of Gram Panchayats, Taluk Panchayats, Zilla Panchayats, MLAs, MLCs and MPs, should immediately meet the Chief Minister and forced him to look into the demands,” she said.
Responding to the demands, the officers admitted that all the issues raised in the agitation were serious and the administration had already taken measures to address them.
Rural women protesting in Raichur on Saturday.
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Abhay Kumar, leader of Grameena Kooli Karmikara Sangha (GRAKOOS) which was one of the constituent organisations in the Joint Committee, said, “For the last 15 years, we have been fighting for various issues concerning the rural labourers. This time, we are not demanding wages or some facilities for us. Rather, we are raising crucial issues concerning the future generations. The government is duty-bound to provide the people with quality education and nutritious food,” he said.
He also announced that the people would continue the day-and-night Satyagraha till the end of the month and warned the government of intensifying the agitation if their demands were not met.
Representatives from different districts of the State and neighbouring states also participated in the agitation.
Published – January 25, 2025 09:34 pm IST