Farmers opposing land acquisition for the Greater Bengaluru Integrated Township project intensified their protest at Bairamंगल Circle in Bidadi on Monday, beginning a hunger strike after nearly 18 months of indefinite demonstrations. The protest continued through the night despite rain and a confrontation with police over plans to install a tent on the road.
Farmers from Bairamangala and Kanchugaranahalli gathered at the junction with cattle, bullock carts and tractors. They placed the vehicles across the road and raised slogans including “Our land, our right”. When protesters attempted to put up a shelter on the road, police objected, citing disruption to traffic, and asked them to continue the demonstration at the existing protest site.
The discussion between the police and protesters turned into a verbal confrontation. The farmers then sat on the road in the sun and continued their protest, raising slogans against the state government, the police and the Greater Bengaluru Development Authority. They said they would not leave the site until the proposed acquisition was withdrawn and the government provided a guarantee that land belonging to farmers who do not consent would not be acquired.
One farmer reportedly felt dizzy and collapsed during the protest. A doctor from a nearby hospital examined him and took him to the hospital for treatment. He later recovered sufficiently to return to the protest, according to the report. When rain began, the farmers took shelter in nearby buildings, while the demonstration continued until the night.
Hosuru Prakash, of the Bairamangala and Kanchugaranahalli Gram Panchayat Farmers’ Land Protection Committee, said Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar had called a meeting with farmer leaders on July 14 after their prolonged opposition to the township project. Prakash alleged that the assurance that land belonging to farmers who did not agree to give it would not be acquired had not been honoured.
Yashwanth of the Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha said the government had also indicated that a committee headed by a retired High Court judge would study the situation and submit a report within a month. He said the committee had not yet visited the project area. The farmers, he added, would continue their protest until they received a guarantee that unwilling landowners would not face acquisition.
P. Krishnaprasad, a former legislator from Kerala and national secretary of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, joined the demonstration and expressed support for the farmers. He alleged that the state government was using the Karnataka Urban Development Authorities Act, 1987, to acquire agricultural land for the township, rather than applying the provisions of the 2013 land acquisition law. These are claims made by the protesters and were not independently established in the report.
Union minister H.D. Kumaraswamy also criticised the police response in a media statement, alleging that force was used against farmers who were attempting to protest peacefully. He questioned the conduct of the state government and alleged that police removed the shelter the protesters were trying to install. The report did not include a response from the state government, the Greater Bengaluru Development Authority or the police to the allegations.
The immediate dispute now centres on whether the proposed township’s land acquisition will proceed against farmers who do not consent, and on the status of the promised committee. The farmers have said their indefinite protest will continue until the government gives a formal guarantee on both issues.
