Haveri, Apr 26 (IANS): Hundreds of victims of a hysterectomy scandal in Karnataka on Tuesday took out a padayatra to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai's native town of Shiggaon in Haveri district.

The protest march has been organised to condemn the apathy and negligence of the authorities as Rs 40 crore compensation amount sanctioned for the victims of the scandal was sent back to the government without being distributed.

The victims, after walking a distance of 75 km, will reach the town on Wednesday.

The agitators have declared that until Bommai personally arrives and assures them of release of compensation, they won't move an inch.

The women are also demanding action against government doctor Shanta and termination of his license as a medical practitioner.

The agitators claimed that they have been protesting for seven to eight years for justice but they are not getting any positive response.

The victims were allegedly subjected to hysterectomy unnecessarily by Shanta for money. The victims are from poor backgrounds and majority of them belong to the Lambani and Dalit communities, who went to the hospital with minor health issues.

It is alleged that hysterectomy was conducted on 1,522 women.

Investigations have shown that the uterus of an unmarried woman and a woman below 40 years of age were also removed for money and an organised racket worked behind the scandal.

A victim, Lalita Basavaraj, explained that after the operation her life has turned upside down.

She can't work and her family members are seeing her as a burden. "I will hold the feet of CM Bommai, to come to their help. I couldn't even know what had happened, they took me and got the surgery done which rendered my life useless," she said.

Another victim, Manjavva explained that she had to work for livelihood and after surgery she had lost all her strength. Now the compensation amount has gone back.

"We need the compensation amount to be alive."