Condemning the soaring prices of fuel and essential commodities and seeking fulfilment of various demands, hundreds of people took out a protest march under the aegis of Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) in Dharwad on Tuesday.
Beginning from Dr. Mallikarjun Mansur Kalabhavan ground, the protesters marched to the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad covering the thoroughfares of the city. They held placards and raised slogans condemning the soaring prices of essential commodities and seeking relief for those who had been badly affected by the lockdown and post-lockdown restrictions.
They also demanded immediate steps for checking the prices and urged the government not to reduce the quantity of foodgrains being distributed under the Public Distribution System (PDS) and immediate release of various pensions. Residents from various localities of Dharwad including some of the major slums took part in the agitation.
Addressing the protesters at the meeting before Deputy Commissioner’s office, Dharwad district secretary of SUCI(C) Ramanjanappa Aldalli said that at a time when the working class of the nation was in difficult situation, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, instead of mitigating the people’s sufferings, the governments were putting further burden on the people.
He alleged that while the Union government had written off loans to the tune of thousands of crores, it had little concern for the poor people, who were being forced to face hardships after losing jobs. Even the benefits of the social welfare schemes were being cut at a time when crores of people had lost their livelihood, he said. He said if the governments failed to stop the service of the corporate sector and take measures to help the poor, the people would be forced to launch a movement against those in power.
District secretariat member of SUCI(C) Gangadhar Badiger said even in the State Budget presented on Monday, there were no pro-poor measures and development programmes for the region.
Memorandum submitted
The protesters then submitted a memorandum to the district officials who assured to look into the demands particularly those pertaining to social welfare schemes which could be resolved at the local level. They also assured that a meeting with officials would be convened soon.
Through the memorandum, the protesters also sought solutions for various civic issues and problems being faced by residents of various localities and slums.
