Arabhavis village shuts down in anger Kankanwadi (Raibag taluk): Kankanwadi village, tucked away in Raibag taluk of Belgaum district, mourned the death of Vittal Arabhavi, the farmer who consumed pesticide on Wednesday. Anger was palpable on the streets, as life came to a halt in the village on Thursday. Villagers shut their shops and businesses as a mark of respect to Arabhavi. Sensing trouble, the district administration declared a holiday for all schools in the village. Elaborate security arrangements were in place, with more than 200 police personnel deployed across the village. Protesting villagers blocked the Mahalingapur-Chikkodi road from Wednesday night to early morning. They burnt tyres on the roads and garlanded the portrait of the deceased farmer, and gave him the title of martyr. The farmers wanted the government to bring the body from the mortuary to the protest site, but the district administration took the body secretly to the village around 11pm Wednesday. This triggered anger among the villagers. With Vittals sons Raghavendra and Bhimashi protesting in front of Suvarna Soudha, family members and villagers waited for them to return and complete the rituals. Raita Sangha leaders brought them to the house around 11.40am, after which the funeral procession started out from the house and Arabhavis last rites were performed in a nearby field around 12.20pm. More than 4,000 farmers from Belgaum, Bagalkot, Bijapur, Gokak, Athani and surrounding areas turned up to pay their last respects, making it tough for police to control the crowd. Former CM and KJP leader BS Yeddyurappa and former minister Shobha Karandlaje also visited the family and handed over Rs 5 lakh in cash as compensation to the family. Arabhavis daughters Sunanda, Nagavva and Sakkubai told TOI the family was at a loss on how to deal with their many problems. GOVT REPS STAY AWAY The fact that there was no one to represent the government at the funeral angered the farmers. Villagers expressed anguish that CM Siddaramaiah had not sent any representative to take care of the funeral arrangements. Though Belgaum district minister Satish Jarkiholi did visit the house to pay his last respects, he left immediately after that. Kodihalli Chandrashekhar, state president, Raitha Sangha, said: If not ministers, at least the DC or tahsildar should have attended the funeral. The government should apologize to the farmers. Courtesy Times of India
Posted on: Fri, 29 Nov 2013 19:12:25 +0000
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