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In a large turning constituent successful the protestation against the projected Bidadi Integrated Township, Nikhil Kumaraswamy, president of the Janata Dal (Secular) younker wing, connected Sunday took the standoff to the crushed by undertaking a protestation march done 8 villages slated for acquisition.
Mr. Nikhil said erstwhile Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda had written to Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar urging him to driblet the Bidadi Integrated Township project. “If the effect is not satisfactory, Mr. Deve Gowda volition motorboat a hunger strike,” helium announced.
Mr. Nikhil covered 11 km connected foot, joined by hundreds of farmers amid slogans against the project. “Kodalla, Bidalla, Maaralla” (“We won’t give, we won’t leave, and we won’t sell”) echoed crossed the villages during the march. He stopped astatine each colony to interact with farmers.
He covered Anchipura, Anchipura Colony, Bannigiri, Merwegowdanadoddi, Gunduthopu, Gollahalli, Kodipalya and Hosuru villages.
The march marks the archetypal large on-ground governmental protestation against the project, adjacent arsenic the Greater Bengaluru Development Authority (GBDA) prepares to contented the last notification for the 2nd batch of villages.
Mr. Nikhil’s protestation comes days aft Magadi MLA H.C. Balakrishna distributed cheques to 7 farmers who agreed to portion with their land. Last week, the GBDA issued a last notification to get 519 acres of land, a bulk of it belonging to farmers holding little than an acre.
Since then, Mr. Balakrishna has been actively backing the task and supporting Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who is spearheading the township inaugural and has maintained that it was the brainchild of erstwhile Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy.
Farmers’ cause
For months, D.K. Shivakumar has maintained that adjacent the household of erstwhile Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy owns onshore successful the villages earmarked for acquisition. Several posters highlighting the contented person besides appeared crossed these villages.
Hitting retired astatine these developments, Mr. Nikhil assured farmers that if the authorities drops the project, helium would dedicate his family’s onshore for hospitals and schools for farmers’ children and guarantee escaped services.
He besides urged farmers not to autumn into the trap of the GBDA allegedly enticing landowners by issuing cheques to a fewer of them. Stressing that his agitation was not politically motivated, Mr. Nikhil said: “As the lad of a farming family, I americium present for farmers and not for immoderate governmental gain. We volition ne'er bash authorities erstwhile the substance concerns farmers.”
Mr. Nikhil indicated that enactment would beryllium extended to farmers who take to prosecute ineligible remedies, though helium did not specify whether the assistance would beryllium financial. However, a husbandman person from the portion told The Hindu that H.D. Kumaraswamy’s household would name advocates to combat ineligible battles connected behalf of the farmers.
