Farmers lay seige to BDA

Hundreds of farmers staged a protest in front of the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) office on Thursday night, as there was no breakthrough in talks between farmers demanding compensation for land acquired for the peripheral ring road and Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda.

The chief minister failed to assure the farmers of their due compensation, said Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) president Kodihalli Chandrashekar.

“ The chief minister said he would raise the issue of compensating farmers in the forthcoming Assembly session. After that, he spoke nothing. The farmers have thus decided to go on an indefinite protest,” he said.

A total of 1,988 acres had been notified for the 65-km stretch of peripheral ring road from Tumkur Road to Hosur Road in 2005. However, the BDA failed to compensate farmers even after the publication of the final notification.

The farmers are demanding that either the BDA award them compensation at the current standard rates or provide them a no objection certificate to carry out farming activity, he said.