Belagavi
Several members of the weaver community and activists of the other five organisations staged a protest on the premises of Suvarna Vidhana Soudha urging them to fulfil their demands.
The protests were held by six organisations at two separate platforms. At the platform near Kondaskoppa, weavers and farmers who were gathered in large numbers protested separately and submitted memorandums to the government.
Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, Joint Committee of Haveri District Building Workers Union, Karnataka State Private Industrial Training Institutes Sangha Hubli and Dalit Sangharsh Samiti protested at Suvarna Garden.
The weavers under the leadership of the Karnataka State Nekar Seva Sangha staged a protest urging the government to fulfil various demands, including issuing cards and giving facilities to professional weavers similar to construction labourers.
State President of Nekar Seva Sangha Shivlinga Taraki said that the condition of the weavers is unstable due to the increase in the price of raw materials and due to the lack of a fixed price for weavers’ products. The government should completely waive the loans of weavers in cooperative societies, institutions and nationalised banks and electricity should be provided without any charges. Also, they demanded to establish a market to sell the produce directly to consumers and weaving must be declared a cottage industry.
Bharatiya Kisan Sangh demanded compensation for the farmers, who lost their land in the Singatalur Lift Irrigation Scheme and to waive loans of farmers. They also asked the government to provide nine-hour quality three-phase electricity without any additional charges.
Meanwhile, farmers staged a protest at the Kondoskopa platform under the leadership of Akhil Karnataka Raitha Sangh, demanding to withdraw three agricultural acts.
