Koraga's stage day-long protest demanding healthy food

September 8, 2011

Mangalore, September 9: Members of the Koraga community staged a day-long protest against irregularities in the delivery of services to them and delay in the appointment tribal officers here on Thursday.

The protest was organised jointly by the Koraga Abhivridhi Okoota (Karnataka-Kerala), Koraga Zilla Samiti and Samgra Grameena Ashrama. A large number of people gathered in front of the office of the Deputy Commissioner participated in it.

Mangalore MLA and the Deputy Chairman of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, N. Yogish Bhat, visited the venue and assured Koraga community of speedy action on the demands put forth by them.

Baalraj Kodikal, member of the Okkooa, said that they had not received "nutritious food" which was to be supplied by the Integrated Tribal Development Project to the Koraga community through anganwadis this monsoon. Under the scheme, the food is to be supplied to Koraga families only during the monsoon, he said, and even that had not been provided this year.

He said that for the last six months, the post of ITDP officer was lying vacant after the previous officer had been removed for irregularities worth lakhs of rupees. Posts of tribal inspectors were also lying vacant for the last five years, causing huge difficulties for the Koraga community. Mr. Baalraj said that due to this, people could not get enough information about government schemes, and there was no one process applications and so on.

Another major demand of the community was land. While the Koraga community had been allotted 600 acres in the neighbouring Udupi district, only 70 families in Dakshina Kannada had been given about one acre of land with title deeds, Mr. Baalraj said.

Deputy Commisioner N.S. Channappa Gowda accepted a memorandum from the protestors and said that he would rectify the problem of supplying nutritious food.

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RuTAGe smart village centres in DK, Udupi to being technology closer to rural communities

News Network

January 20,2026

Mangaluru: In a major step towards strengthening rural innovation, the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India is supporting the establishment of RuTAGe Smart Village Centres (RSVCs) across the country through collaborations with academic institutions, civil society organisations and philanthropic partners.

As part of this national initiative, Nitte (Deemed to be University) will set up the first RSVCs in the region at Nitte GP in Udupi district and at the Nitte Health Centre, Sevanjali Trust, Farangipete, in Dakshina Kannada district. The centres will be inaugurated on January 21. In South India, the programme is being implemented by the Section Infin-8 Foundation (SI-8).

Speaking to reporters on Monday, SI-8 founder-director Vishwas US said experts from Nitte University and SI-8 would work closely with farmers, students, youth and local entrepreneurs to adapt and deploy technologies tailored to local needs.

Project head Prof Iddya Karunasagar, representing Nitte DU, said the RSVCs at Nitte and Farangipete would serve as demonstration hubs for a wide range of agriculture, energy, skill-development and assistive technologies. These include solar dryers for fruits, vegetables and crops; soil-testing solutions; power weeders and women-friendly farm tools; wind-powered devices for rural artisans; grain storage systems; grass-cutting and tree-climbing equipment; and liquid fertiliser production using cowshed waste.

SI-8 CEO Aravind C Kumar said the centres would also provide access to digital and knowledge-based platforms such as ISRO applications, government scheme portals, market linkage tools and gamified learning resources, along with assistive technologies for persons with visual impairments.

Highlighting the broader impact of the initiative, Principal Scientific Adviser Prof Ajay Kumar Sood said it demonstrated how applied research could bridge the rural–urban divide and help create self-reliant, technology-enabled villages.

The initiative has been made possible through philanthropic support from Dr NC Murthy of ACM Business Solutions, LLC, USA. Dr Sapna Poti, Director (Strategic Alliances) at the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, said the long-term objective is to build self-sufficient, technology-driven communities capable of generating sustainable livelihoods on their own.

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