Chetan's fight for diddalli adivasis continues

BT had earlier reported how Sandalwood actor Chetan has been championing the cause of adivasis in Diddalli in Coorg. The fight now sees two parties fighting for empathetic causes. While the adivasis are fighting for their right to live on one side, the Coorg Wildlife Society is fighting against encroachment of the already dwindling forest cover.
Giving an update of what transpired over the past few days, Chetan wrote, 'The state government responds to our demands for tribal rehabilitation and justice.The Social Welfare Ministry has provided `1 crore for immediate high quality tents, ration, water and toilet facilities for the 3,000 evicted tribals of Diddalli. Also, over the course of the next one month, the Social Welfare Ministry & Secretary Manivannan will set up a joint committee led by CM Siddaramaiah with involvement from those of us from the movement to resolve the pending rehabilitation issue through resettlement options."
Col Muthanna, president of Coorg Wildlife Society, says, 'The encroachments were first reported on September 21. We subsequently brought this to the knowledge of the forest department and we had personally visited the area on September 29. The encroachments at that time consisted of about over 300 structures of huts that were being constructed. The Coorg Wildlife Society has written asking that the encroachments should be removed as they were in violation of the Forests Act. On December 7, we were informed by the police authorities that the encroachments at Diddalli had been cleared.' He adds, 'We want to make it clear that most of the people who have rushed to Diddalli to support the tribals have not come out of any love or sympathy for them, but with their own agendas.'
He further states, 'The mischief is obvious from the fact that most of the encroachers are from outside the district and have deliberately been moved into Kodagu as a part of a larger plan. We also have information that agents from the Kerala timber mafia have infiltrated into Diddalli as they sense this as an opportunity to loot timber.'