Handi Jogi people cry for succour

mysore: many governments have come and gone but they have served no purpose for the most backward handi chikka or handi jogi community in the state, which lives in abject poverty. this kind of living is no exception to handi chikka community people of hunsur town in mysore district. as the name suggests, their main occupation is pig rearing. the thatched huts of the families of this community dotted all over the town reflect the callousness of the successive governments in meeting the basic needs of this downtrodden section of society, especially shelter.if this is the situation on their home front, they are on the verge of losing their profession of pig rearing. reason: town municipalities and corporations do not want to see the "ugly faces" of pigs reared by these people as they consider these beasts act as vector in spreading various diseases such as encephalitis or japanese fever in urban agglomerations. the problem confronting the community in hunsur: they have been asked to vacate their huts and land near the government college, where they have been residing for the last 45 years. "the people in the area, especially authorities of local government college, are hell-bent on seeing us out of this spot," hanuma, an elderly man from the community, complained, adding there is none to hear their grievances. they say they have no houses to live and the profession of pig rearing is fast 'dying' with them and the animals facing 'hostility' from the civic bodies and the local population. "we see the faces of politicians only during elections. they come for votes and after that, not once do any of them approach us to hear our problems," says seenya, a youth belonging to the community. so far, their appeals to the municipality and leaders seeking houses under thevarious government schemes - ashraya and indira awas yojane - have yielded no result. the women have several times approached authorities with application forms but have no document to prove their proof of residence here. "how can we produce a domicile certificate when the government has failed to recognise our existence," asks gangavva, ridiculing the officers' demand for proof of residence. hunsur town municipality chief officer n. krishna could only say, "i am not aware of the problems faced by the community. however, i will try to redress their problems if anybody comes to me."