Amid rain, members of various organisations, including anganwadi workers, farmers and workers, staged their demonstrations in the twin cities of Hubballi and Dharwad on Monday seeking fulfilment of their various demands.
They all gathered under the aegis of the Anganwadi Workers Forum, the Raita Krishi Karmikara Sangha, the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) and the Communist Party of India (CPI) to stage their protests in front of the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad.
During their protest, anganwadi workers urged the State government to start kindergarten classes in anganwadi centres instead of in primary schools as it would push anganwadi centres to the verge of closure. They said that the move was detrimental to the very existence of the anganwadi centres as people would refrain from sending their children to these centres forcing their closure. And, the closure of anganwadi centres would render lakhs of people, mainly women, jobless.
In a similar protest in front of the Mini Vidhana Soudha in Hubballi, anganwadi workers, led by convenors N.A. Khaji, Kasturi Bendre, Lata Ghodke and others, urged the State government to start kindergarten classes in anganwadi centres.
Amendments opposed
In another protest in Hubballi, members of the Communist Party of India (CPI) strongly opposed the amendments to the Karnataka Land Reforms Act and other Acts, terming them detrimental to the interests of farmers and the working class.
Leading the protest, CPI district office-bearers N.A. Khaji, B.A. Mudhol, G.H. Kariyannavar and others said that the BJP-led State government was acting at the behest of big corporate and multinational companies.
Memorandum
In yet another protest in Hubballi, autorickshaw and taxi drivers urged the State government to also consider the case of those autorickshaw and taxi drivers who did not have a vehicle of their own under the financial assistance scheme announced by Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa. They submitted a memorandum to the taluk officials.
Crop relief
In Dharwad, farmers from Shirur, led by Mallikarjun Balagoudar, staged a protest demanding the early release of crop relief for kharif and rabi seasons of 2018-19, repair of rural roads and also fresh farm loans.
Development sought
Residents of Hunasikumari village staged a protest in Dharwad under the aegis of Raita Krishi Karmikara Sangha seeking development activities in their village. They said that they were deprived of basic amenities, including transportation and primary healthcare. As public transport buses were not being run citing bad roads, the administration should immediately get the roads repaired, they demanded.
‘Release wages’
In another protest in Dharwad, workers of various government hostels run by the Social Welfare and Backward Classes Corporation submitted a memorandum seeking the payment of their pending wages. They said that hundreds of workers were facing hardships as the department had not released their wages despite a direction from the State government.
