As the country watches the huge farmer protests in Delhi, a dissent is gathering momentum in the four villages of Nagamangala taluk, around 100 km from Bengaluru.
For the past 25 days, women, men and young farmers are staging a sit-in protest against the move of Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) to acquire 1,277 acres of agricultural land. Their demand is “Return our land to us.”
These farmers take turns and around 100 farmers hold a peaceful demonstration at a designated place every day, which is also the entry point to the villages from National Highway 75.
“This is irrigated land and we grow a variety of crops - from paddy and finger millet to coconut, arecanut and vegetables. We have clearly objected to the KIADB notice and refused to give away our land. Why is there no action from the government yet?” says 50-year-old Gowramma. She has been participating in the protest every day.
“We are small farmers. This year I might lose my crop, but this is the question of my land and life. This is the only source of livelihood for us and I can’t afford to lose it,” she says.
In August 2020, the state government notified 1,277 acres of land in four villages - Channapura, Hatna, Bilagunda and Beechanahalli, as industrial area and served notice to the villagers. Shocked, villagers contacted the officials and registered their dissent. They also held a mass protest, blocking NH 75 briefly. Soon the government announced that there won’t be any hasty action in this regard.
However, Krishna, one of the protesters, says, “KIADB officials came to the village for the initial land survey (joint survey) last month which angered us and that was when we decided to symbolically block the road to the village till the government denotifies the land.”
Social activist V Gayathri, who recently visited the protesters, said the entire area has ecological significance considering its proximity to the Adichunchanagiri Peacock Sanctuary and Markonahalli Dam, where a drinking water project is underway.
Along with the protests, the villagers are also meeting officials and lawmakers to resolve the issue. “We have only seen conflicting statements. Everyone says they won’t cause injustice to farmers. But we don’t see any action in this regard,” says Mahesh, another protester.
B C Shivananda Murthy, Assistant Commissioner, Pandavapura, who visited the protesters on November 30, says, “The law doesn’t require KIADB to discuss with the farmers before notifying the land. The land is identified based on various parameters including access and resources. If the government decides to revoke the decision, it will take time and there is a procedure to be followed. I will inform the farmers’ views to higher officials.”
K M Suresh Kumar, Special Land Acquisition Officer, KIADB, Mysuru, told DH: “As per the new government circular, we should produce the final notification (after the completion of the joint measurement survey/certificate) within two months of notifying the land. The farmers here haven’t allowed us to enter the village. We have submitted the status report to the government. We haven’t got direction from the government to withhold the survey.”
As the government is taking its own time to take action, farmers fear politics is being played out to fizzle out the campaign and acquire the land.