Famers turn the heat on Karnataka govt

[SRINIVAS_IYENGAR]

Famers turn the heat on Karnataka govt
Published: Friday, Dec 10, 2010, 10:04 IST
By Srikanth Hunasavadi | Place: Bangalore | Agency: DNA

Nearly 3,000 farmers, many of them from villages on the outskirts of the city, arrived in tractors and bullock carts to protest the acquisition of agricultural land for industrial development and formation of layouts.

Many of the them were from Thanisandra and other villages, which have been notified for the formation of Arkavathy Layout.

The farmers took out a peaceful rally, winding their way past Hudson Circle, near Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) head office. They garlanded the Kempegowda statue and arrived at Vidhana Soudha through KG Road and Mysore Bank Circle. The crowd was stopped at the Vidhana Soudha by the police, and they held a gathering on Palace Road.

Kodihalli Chandrashekar, president, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, led the protesters. The Samata Sainika Dal, Dalit Sangharsha Samiti, Karunada Sena, Karnataka Rakhsana Vedike and Sarvodaya Party workers also participated. The farmers raised slogans against land acquisition and demanded justice for them. They demanded that either the government return the agricultural lands acquired for industry, especially since some of these acquisitions were later denotified, or give those who lost their lands fair compensation.

A leader of the farmers said, “In case the government wants to acquire land for development or industry, it should approach us directly rather than through the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB).”
Chandrashekar said, “Despite our warnings, the state has continued to acquire land for industrialisation through the KIADB. Although the chief minister has assured to call another meeting with farmers to ensure that justice is done, nothing has happened so far.”

The leader of the protesting farmers warned that if state government failed to respond to the farmers’ problems, they would resort to more aggressive means to get a fair deal. “Farmers will pledge that whatever the consequences, we will not allow the state government to acquire our fertile land. We are ready to sacrifice our lives.” The protesters demanded that the government offer them at least 40% of the developed land for every acre of agricultural land acquired.

Traffic police said that although the farmers arrived in tractors and bullock carts, the rally did not cause any major disruption in traffic flow in the arterial roads around Vidhana Soudha through which the farmers marched.