Mangaluru: Samanwaya Samiti will stage a protest opposing the non-allocation of DC manna lands to eligible Dalit communities in the district, in front of the DC’s office on December 20.

The activists will also urge district administration to evict those who had encroached DC manna lands and reallocate them to beneficiaries.

Samanwaya Samiti general convener M Devdas told media persons at Hotel Woodlands on Friday that the protest will be held under the slogan ‘Namma Bhoomi Namma Hakku’ (Our land, our right). He said during the British rule, the government had reserved land in every village for dalits.

Over the years, the DC manna lands were encroached depriving members of SC/ ST communities of their right to own lands.

Samiti general secretary Ashok Konchadi said memorandums had been submitted to ministers Kota Srinivas Poojary, S Angara, R Ashoka and others requesting them to take measures on allocating the DC manna lands. However, there was no response, he rued.

Samiti office-bearers Ramesh Kotian, Raghu K Ekkar, Jagadish Pandeshwara, Chandrakumar, Girish Ullal, S P Ananda, Sesappa Bedrakady, Nagesh Balmutta and others were present.

DC manna land status

Konchadi said the district and taluk-level task forces on the DC manna lands, formed during the tenure of the then Revenue Minister Kagodu Thimmappa in 2017, had not held any meetings so far.

Out of 8,450 acres of the DC manna land in Dakshina Kannada district, only 5,200 acres were available and the rest were encroached. The government is supporting the encroachers by not taking any action against the encroachments, he added.