Mohan Kuthar

Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Apr 29: “Ullal has become the centre of a neo-capitalist empire, where red soil looters, real estate tycoons, and illegal sand miners are destroying resources,” alleged CPI(M) Dakshina Kannada district secretary Muneer Katipalla.

Speaking at a mass protest rally and public meeting organised at Natekal Circle and in front of Deralakatte Hospital, demanding comprehensive development of Ullal taluk, Katipalla criticised the creation of Ullal taluk without public demand, which he claimed has only added to people's hardships. “All government mechanisms have been handed over to private players, making life difficult for the original residents,” he said.

He highlighted that historical Ullal, once inspired by figures like Rani Abbakka and Syed Madani Tangal, has now transformed into a hub for neo-capitalists. “What was once a land of farmers and labourers has become dominated by private buildings, hospitals, malls, and food courts. While the illusion of prosperity is projected, a deeper look reveals a very different reality — one that only the communist parties seem to understand.”

Katipalla said that after identifying 28 to 30 key issues in the region, a month-long protest was carried out, culminating in this rights-based public meeting. “During reviews on regional development, only representatives from private medical colleges are present — not auto drivers, Koragas, Dalits, street vendors, bus drivers, or workers from local colleges,” he said, criticising how policy decisions are shaped by the convenience of corporates and real estate brokers.

He pointed out the historical land struggles between 1940 and 1970, where people were jailed to reclaim land, but now 200-300 acres of Ullal land is owned by new landlords. “Local residents, including 80% of natives, live behind these glittering empires, landless and jobless. Their educated children are unable to get seats in local medical or engineering colleges and end up working as room boys or salesmen in Bengaluru, or in farms and goat-rearing jobs in Gulf countries.”

“Ullal’s development is now measured by the lives of medical students and patients brought in from northern Karnataka and Hyderabad-Karnataka, who pay lakhs in fees. But a government medical college has not been sanctioned for the district, and if it is, it will likely be handed over to private hands under the PPP model.”

Katipalla decried the lack of basic infrastructure in the new taluk, including the absence of a mini Vidhana Soudha and court. “No taluk-level facilities exist. Officials borrowed from Mangaluru and Moodbidri offer inaccessible services to locals,” he said. He warned that newly constructed bridges in Pavoor-Uliya and Harekala are being misused for illegal sand mining, leading to destruction of islands. “What is the use of bridges if laws against sand mafia are not enforced?”

He criticised attempts to lease river islands to five-star hotels under the guise of tourism, while the educated youth and women of native communities are employed in these hotels as sweepers and cleaners. “Even after 20 years, land has not been allotted to the landless. Yet, they claim Ullal is developing.”

He questioned the absence of policies to provide quality jobs to locals. “Traders from Kerala open colleges here where their students come to study, but those colleges wouldn't even be approved in Kerala due to stricter laws. Here, with money, anything is possible.”

“There is not even a single government degree college in the taluk. Mangalore University is heading towards bankruptcy due to corruption. Poor students get Rs 5,000–10,000 discounts on seats at private hospitals, but the same hospitals don’t offer discounts to patients unless instructed by the local MLA,” he alleged.

He further said that though there is an industrial zone in Mudipu, industrial or employment policies are not followed. “There is a fishmeal factory at the Ullal coast affecting public health, but no employment for locals. The MLA celebrates Iftar and Deepavali with medical college owners.”

“People who once wandered the streets are now real estate brokers in Deralakatte, earning commissions by selling Ullal’s land to capitalists, and use that money to fund local matches and events for youth. The red soil mafia driven out of Kerala has now settled here.”

Katipalla criticised the opposition BJP for not raising issues related to housing for the poor, unemployment, or the lack of government hospitals. “Instead, they irresponsibly target a community using the case of a missing boy named Digant. They deliver speeches at community centres like Koragajja Katte to provoke sentiment.”

“Even MLAs who hold meetings with capitalists here also engage with investors abroad, yet they never speak about the plight of local labourers working overseas,” he said.

Speaking earlier, CPI(M) Ullal zone secretary and rally leader Sunil Kumar Bajal said Ullal lacks all basic infrastructure required for a taluk. “Education, employment, and healthcare have become privileges of the wealthy, leaving the poor to suffer,” he alleged.

The programme was presided over by Krishna Salyan, with CPI(M) state committee member K Yadav Shetty and district committee member Sukumar Tokkottu present. Leaders including Rafeeq Harekala, Shekhar Kundar, Sundar Kumpala, Janardhan Kuthar, Nithin Kuthar, Rizwan Harekala, Ibrahim Amblakamogaru, Farooq Kanekere, Mushtaq Ali, Vinayak Shenoy, Chandrashekar Kinya, Gilbert D’Souza, Kariya K, Mahabala T Deppelimar (Munnuru GP vice president), and members Ganesh Adyantaya, Rajeshwari, Ashraf Harekala were also in attendance.