Citizens’ Research Collective on SEZ

Mangalore, February 3, 2008: Residents of Thenka Ekkaru, Delantha Bettu, Kuthethoor, Permude and Bala villages were at their hospitable best to the team of experts from the Ministry of Environment and Forests that surveyed their lands on Sunday.

The expert committee was there to inquire into the veracity of claims made by various organisations that fertile agricultural land was being acquired for the Mangalore Special Economic Zone project.

In Thenka Ekkaru, the villagers greeted the team with tender coconut water, even as one elderly villager said: “This sweet coconut water is from the same land that the MSEZ officials have branded as barren.” A committee member retorted, “That is why we came all the way from Delhi, to find out the truth.” But, it was all in lighter vein.

The villagers showed the officials medicinal herbs and plants. Permude, a teacher, showed the officials a project where the schoolchildren had collected the feathers of peacocks, jungle fowl and porcupine nettles. “All this will be gone if the SEZ comes here,” she said.

In Delantha Bettu where the officials visited the Shiburaru Kodamanitaya temple. It is famous for medicinal properties of a fresh water spring. The temple priest, S.P. Shetty said that this was the temple of a village deity and people from all faiths and castes worshipped there. He said that the industrialisation in the last decade had polluted the temple spring.

The officials strove through tough terrain as they visited dozens of remotest farms nestled in deep valleys of the region. The farmers voiced their opposition against the proposed petrochemical project.

The villagers were mostly disorganised. Every farmer insisted that the officials visited their farm.

“We are here to get a fair idea about the topography of the region. It is not possible for us to visit all farms. One of you take over the leadership and show us around,” the officials requested the villagers. Not unexpectedly, dozens of people volunteered to lead.

When the officials visited a farm in Manjalakodi Kuthethoor, Appi Poojarithi (75) wept loudly and said: “Give me poison instead of your rehabilitation package.”

One of the officials showed remarkable sensitivity as he patiently heard Ms. Poojarithi and spent a while on consoling her.

Source: The Hindu