Dalit activists speaking at a press meet in Mangaluru on Monday.
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Dalit organisations have threatened to launch a series of agitations if the State government does not start allotting ‘DC Manna’ (Depressed Class) land to needy people from the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) by the end of October.Addressing reporters in Mangaluru on Monday, Dalit leader Raghu K. Yekkar said Dalit organisations have been fighting for the allotment of DC manna land to SCs and STs since 2008. Following a massive agitation in 2017, the then Revenue Minister Kagodu Thimmappa held a meeting with activists. Soon after, the then Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner K.G. Jagadeesha sent a letter to the government seeking guidelines for the allotment of ‘DC Manna’ land. “So far, the government has failed to allot the land,” he said.In a recent meeting, Deputy Commissioner H.V. Darshan assured them that allotment would begin after the State government granted approval for the proposal to allocate 5 cents of DC manna site in urban areas and one acre of cultivable DC manna land in rural areas.Mr. Yekkar said the organisations were firm on their demand for the allocation of 10 cents of land in urban areas and two acres of land in rural areas. “We cannot agree with the contention of the district administration about a shortage of land. The government should take steps to reclaim DC manna lands that are illegally occupied and allot them to SC/ST families,” he said.“The government should take a decision in the Cabinet meeting to be held in Mangaluru on September 18. If it fails to start allocation within a month of the Cabinet meeting, we will start a series of protests,” Mr. Yekkar said.Dalit leader Ramesh Kotian said they were also demanding the immediate start of work to install a statue of Babasaheb Ambedkar at Ambedkar Circle in Mangaluru, which was being delayed. Published - September 07, 2026 09:00 pm IST
