CHIKKAMAGALURU: Gupta-Shettyhalli is no ordinary hamlet. The name itself tells a story. Thirty-five families living in Tatkola reserve forest who had nowhere to go remember IPS officer Madhukar Shetty, who passed away in Hyderabad on Friday, with gratitude.
They are proud to have a roof over their heads and an identity now, thanks to Shetty’s relentless efforts. Shetty, who was superintendent of police in Chikkamagaluru in 2006, and then deputy commissioner Harsh Gupta, ensured that these families had their own houses and land to cultivate at their new hamlet which they named it after Gupta and Shetty.
Umesh, a resident of the village, said in 2006, forest officials evicted them from Tatkola forest. These included Dalits and small landowners. “We were left in the wilderness not knowing what to do next with no houses to live in and land to cultivate,” he said. Mani, another villager, said they later appealed to the two officers.
Shetty took up their cause and in consultation with Gupta, succeeded in getting 64 acres of land to them on the border of the Sargod Kundur reserve forest.
The entire hamlet was drowned in sorrow on Saturday over Shetty’s death. Paying rich tributes to Shetty at a condolence meeting, they said how his heart always beat for the poor. They said his death is a loss for poor people like themselves.