The peaceful sit-in protest by an elderly couple from Kowkradi village entered its 15th day on Monday, casting a spotlight on a protracted land rights issue in Karnataka's Dakshina Kannada district. The protest, staged in front of the offices of the Puttur taluk tahsildar and the assistant commissioner, has seen the septuagenarian couple, Muthuswamy and Radhamma, demand justice after their home was demolished by authorities.
A Home Demolished Amidst Pending Plea
The core of the dispute lies in the demolition of the couple's house in November last year. Muthuswamy and Radhamma claim they have been residing in the village since 2012. They had submitted an application for the regularisation of the government land they occupied under Section 94C of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act many years ago. Crucially, this application was still pending when officials, reportedly citing a court direction, razed their house to the ground.
The couple asserts that the demolition was carried out illegally as their formal request for regularization was under active consideration. Exhausted by visits to multiple government offices and meetings with public representatives that yielded no results, they were forced to begin their sit-in protest. Their desperation has now reached a point where they have announced they will commence a hunger strike if the authorities continue to ignore their demand for land and a house.
Political Support and Official Response
The protest has garnered attention from local political groups and leaders. Venugopal, the Dakshina Kannada district unit president of the Karnataka Rashtra Samithi (KRS) Paksha, stated that his party stands in solidarity with the elderly couple. He reinforced their timeline, confirming their long-term residence and the pending nature of their Section 94C application.
Puttur MLA Ashok Kumar Rai visited the protest site to assess the situation. While noting that the issue falls outside his direct assembly constituency jurisdiction, he took cognizance of the couple's plight. "The couple informed that the concerned officials did not respond to their demand. They also expressed their helplessness and decision to start a hunger strike," the MLA said.
Pathway to a Resolution?
MLA Ashok Kumar Rai outlined a potential way forward. He pledged to discuss the matter with relevant officials to explore if the long-pending Section 94C application can be expedited. Furthermore, he assured that necessary measures would be initiated to provide the couple with a house under a suitable government housing scheme. This intervention offers a glimmer of hope, but the couple continues their vigil, waiting for concrete action.
The ongoing protest underscores the human cost of bureaucratic delays and the severe impact of displacement, especially on vulnerable elderly citizens. As the sit-in stretches into its third week, all eyes are on the district administration to provide a just and humane resolution before the situation escalates further with the threatened hunger strike.
