The Hindu Business Line : Naxal threat worries coffee heartland of Chikmagalur

PLANTERS in Chikmagalur district, the country's coffee heartland, fear that the spread of Naxalism in the region may escalate into a major problem for them if the Government fails to check it.

Naxalites have been operating clandestinely in the Western Ghats of Karnataka, especially in parts of districts such as Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Chikmagalur over last five to six years. The thick natural vegetation of the Western Ghats offers an ideal location for the Naxals from Andhra Pradesh, who were on the lookout for an alternative hideout.

However, their presence came to the fore only after the State Government started evicting tribals from the Kudremukh National Park (KNP) about two-to-three years ago and failed to compensate and rehabilitate them adequately.

Sources said the Naxalites had been championing the cause of the tribals from KNP and the landless labourers in the region. The Naxal problem might persist unless the rehabilitation is taken care of properly by the government, sources said.

At present, the Naxal activity is confined to the periphery of Kudremukh National Park, Sringeri and Koppa in Chikmagalur district bordering Udupi, Dakshina Kannada and Shimoga.

A couple of encounters have taken place over last two years in Udupi and Chikmagalur districts in which four naxalites including two women activists were killed. Naxal leader Saket Rajan and his accomplice was killed in an encounter at Menasinahadya in Chikmagalur district in February this year. In retaliation, Naxals had killed about seven policemen in Tumkur district bordering Andhra. Early this month Naxals blew up a forest check post near Sringeri.

Though Naxalism has claimed over a dozen lives including those of the activists, police and the suspected informants, there have been hardly any incidents relating to extortion reported till now in Chikmagalur, sources said.

"Naxalism is still very much in the periphery of the Chikmagalur districts. It is going to be a major problem if the spread is unchecked," said a planter from the Sringeri-Koppa belt on condition of anonymity.

Sources said the government should take necessary actions by inviting the Naxals for a dialogue. However, the State Government has made it clear that it was willing to talk to the Naxals if they put down their arms. The State has also recently announced a surrender package, under which it was willing to drop the cases against those Naxals who want to join the mainstream society.

Chikmagalur accounts for about 25 per cent of the India's coffee output of close to three lakh tonnes. About 68,000 tonnes of coffee was produced in the 2004-05 season in Chikmagalur district, while the country's overall output stood at 2.75 lakh tonnes. Other prominent commercial crops grown in the region include arecanut, cardamom and pepper.

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