Devanahalli farmers serve 24-hour ultimatum to govt. to shelve land acquisition

Farmers opposing the acquisition of 1,777 acres in 13 villages of Devanahalli taluk for a proposed aerospace park have served a 24-hour ultimatum to the State government to shelve the acquisition process in full. Failing this, they have threatened to launch an intensified struggle from Thursday.

The declaration was made at the ‘Devanahalli Chalo’ protest by farmers on Wednesday that saw people from various walks of life, including actor Prakash Raj, experts like T.N. Prakash Kammaradi, academicians and social activists taking part in it. 

Later, in a letter to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the protesters said: “For the past 1,178 days, we have been fighting for saving our land and livelihood. People of all castes, like brothers and sisters, have united and fought together. We have knocked on the doors of those in power. This tug-of-war is enough. A final resolution must be reached. Either you must leave us alone to live our lives or you must permanently imprison us with our families and declare that companies are more important to you than us.” 

They said that the then-ruling BJP government decided in January 2022 to evict them  and give away their 1,777 acres of land to private companies. But the nearly 800 families who own this land had decided against giving away their land.

Recalling that the public opinion elicited by the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board had showed that 80% of farmers had refused to part with their land, they argued that it was necessary as per norms to shelve the land.

Questioning the commitment of Mr. Siddaramaiah on protecting their interests, they pointed out that when in Opposition, the Congress had opposed the project in the Assembly and he had visited them during the protest and promised to cancel the acquisition process if he were to get power. “This protest has been organised now with the decision to knock on your doors firmly for the last time,” they told the Chief Minister in the letter. 

Referring to the offer by Ministers M.B. Patil and K.H. Muniyappa of keeping three of the 13 villages out of the land acquisition process, the farmers described it as “divide-and-rule strategy” and reiterated that they would reject such a proposal.