MANGALURU: The construction of India’s first Coast Guard Academy (CGA) at Kenjar on the outskirts of Mangaluru has run into controversy, with Dalit families living in the vicinity alleging that the compound wall being built for the project has cut off the only access road to their colony, affecting their daily lives.
The CGA has been allotted 159 acres of land by the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB), and work is currently underway on laying the foundation for the compound wall. However, residents of Moodubalike, a small habitation located close to the academy site, claim that a kaccha road that provided the sole access to their colony was blocked around two months ago due to the construction activity.
Dalit Sangharsha Samiti (DSS) district convenor Sadashiva Padubidri said that around 10 Dalit families have been living in the area for nearly 70 years and were granted title deeds under the government’s Ashraya housing scheme in 1994. Despite having legal ownership of their homes, the families are now facing isolation due to the loss of road access, he said.
Padubidri explained that the colony is surrounded by private properties on three sides, leaving only a mud road adjoining Survey No. 116/7 as the lone access route. “This road has been crucial for all daily needs, including travel to workplaces, schools, markets and hospitals,” he said, adding that the problem will become more acute during the monsoon, when the entire area gets waterlogged.
According to DSS leaders, repeated appeals to Member of Parliament Capt. Brijesh Chowta, MLA Umanath Kotial, the Deputy Commissioner, Coast Guard officials and the Tahsildar have failed to yield any concrete response.
“The MP expressed helplessness and did not even accept our memorandum. He later asked the Tahsildar to conduct a spot inspection, but the inspection was carried out without informing the local residents,” said Raghu K. Yekkar, another DSS leader.
He added that Coast Guard officials had earlier orally assured the residents that the road would not be blocked. “We have no alternative access as the remaining three sides are private lands and the owners will not permit passage. From an existing concrete road, our houses are barely 50 metres away. If the Coast Guard gives up just a few cents of land, a proper access road can be provided to our habitation,” he said.
The DSS has demanded an immediate halt to the compound wall construction and urged the MP and the Deputy Commissioner to intervene and ensure an alternative access arrangement. Stating that access to a road is a fundamental right, the organisation warned that if the alleged injustice to the Scheduled Caste families is not addressed, it will be forced to launch protest demonstrations.
Meanwhile, a Coast Guard official, speaking on condition of anonymity, denied the allegations and said there was no question of blocking any road, as no road is shown at the location in the panchayat records.