Daijiworld Media Network - Beltangady (SP)

Beltangady, Aug 27: In most of the places, the authorities find it very hard to evict residents from inside the forests. It is strange but true that residents of the forest here have been requesting the government to shift them out of the forest region.  

Residents of Malavanthige village in Beltangady taluk in the district become fearful every time the monsoon approaches. The natural disaster of last year has instilled a sense of fear in their minds. The residents of three villages, Daipittila, Makki and Perla here have urged the government to relocate them from their present habitats.

Devastation caused by floods in Malavanthige in 2019

The areas where they live fall under Kudremukh National Park limits at the foot of the Western Ghats. The flash floods last time have inflicted huge loss to their agricultural land. The villagers are afraid at the beginning of every rainy season that similar disasters might hit them and lives might be lost.

Over 16 families living in these three villages have been harassed by natural calamity on one side and the wild animals on the other. The crops they raise by working hard in spite of hostile weather, are destroyed by wild animals, particularly the wild elephants. This is the main reason they want a safer place to live.

Some of these families have been here since the last 80 years. But the worsening flood and animal situation have been forcing them to move out.