VHP, Bajrang Dal banner against non-Hindu businessmen at Kavoor Jathre
Cops were careless, say CPM, DYFI
Mangaluru: Members of various organizations have objected to the police not taking due action in relation to a banner put up on the ‘Kavoor Mahalingeshwara Devasthana Jathre’ venue prohibiting ‘non-Hindus’ from setting up stall.
“The policemen behaved irresponsibly in the matter,” the members of the DYFI and the CPM Committee (Mangaluru North) have complained to the City Police Commissioner N Shashi Kumar.
The Kavoor Jathre (commercial festival) is to commence on Saturday, and people from various religions, castes and communities participate in it.
On January 10, however, a banner was put up at the venue, banning Muslims from setting up stall for business at the festival. When informed of the matter, the policemen, including the ACP, got the banner cleared from the venue.
The DYFI and the CPM Committee (Mangaluru North) members have told the commissioner that a new banner in the name of the Vishwa Hindu Parishat and the Kavoor unit of the Bajrang Dal was found here on Friday, with the ‘order’, “Only Hindu businessmen who believe in the beliefs and conventions of the Sanatana Dharma are permitted to conduct business at the Kavoor Jathre. Those who consider idol worship as a ‘haram’ act will not be let.”
The members have also said that, when the police were informed that a new banner had been put up, the cops merely said that it was the decision of the Temple committee.
Pointing out that nowhere does the banner say that it was put up by the temple committee – instead, the names of only the Vishwa Hindu Parishat and the Bajrang Dal Kavoor unit are seen on the banner, the DYFI and CPM members also threatened to stage a protest demanding a clearance of the banner. “In response, the policeman chiding told us to go ahead,” they have told the commissioner.
They have requested the commissioner to not only get the banner, which carries a socially divisive message, cleared from the festival venue, but also take necessary disciplinary action against the policeman who acted very irresponsibly in the matter.
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Over 19,000 acres of illegal poppy cultivation destroyed in Manipur since 2017: Report
Imphal (PTI): The Manipur government has destroyed a total of 19,135.6 acres of illegal poppy cultivation in at least 12 districts since 2017, according to an official report.
In Kangpokpi district, the highest of 4,454.4 acres were destroyed during the period, followed by 3,348 acres in Ukhrul and 2,713.8 acres in Churachandpur, the study – Mapping and Estimation of Opium Poppy Cultivation Area using Remote Sensing and GIS Technology – revealed.
The exercise was conducted by the Manipur Remote Sensing Applications Centre under the Planning Department, based on data provided by the ‘Narcotics and Affairs of Border’ wing of the state police.
The other districts where illegal poppy cultivation was destroyed include 2,575 acres in Tengnoupal, 1,982.5 acres in Chandel and 1,682 acres in Senapati, the report said.
It showed that the area under poppy cultivation in nine districts in 2021-22 was 28,598.91 acres, which declined to 11,288.1 acres in 2023-24.
Between 2023 and 2024, poppy cultivation decreased by 32.13 per cent compared to 2022-23, according to the study.
In a post on X, Chief Minister N Biren Singh had last month said the state government is committed in its resolve to eradicate illegal poppy cultivation in the northeastern state.
