Desperate farmers rope in ex-Lokayukta to spearhead Bidadi chalo march

Bengaluru: Striking a more aggressive posture after a nearly 500-day solo struggle, farmers protesting against the state govt’s proposed Bidadi Township project are set to scale up their agitation.

In a bid to break their isolation, the protesters have invited former Karnataka Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde to lead their upcoming demonstrations, while partnering with major agricultural unions to launch a massive ‘Bidadi Chalo’ march.The agitators are also expanding their battlefront. The movement is no longer just about stopping the Bidadi project; it is actively absorbing growing resentment over ongoing land acquisitions in Sarjapura on the outskirts of Bengaluru, and near Jangamakote in Chikkaballapur district’s Sidlaghatta taluk.HG Prakash, an agitation member and former Taluk Panchayat representative, stated that a major rally is scheduled for Thursday to demand that the state govt scrap the township entirely. Hegde and Karnataka State Sugarcane Growers’ Association president Hallikerehundi Bhagyaraj will be present to show solidarity. “We are expecting more than 2,000 farmers for Thursday’s protest,” Prakash said. “Various bodies will also organize the ‘Bidadi Chalo’ march on Saturday, where over 4,000 farmers from across the state are expected to join.

”Local farm leaders admit that the long-drawn protest was beginning to feel the strain of fighting in isolation. Farmer B Hanumantanna noted that the weekend march is a much-needed shot in the arm. “The ‘Bidadi Chalo’ march will give a major boost to those who have been protesting against the township project for nearly 500 days,” Hanumantanna said. “We have not received adequate support from other parts of the state so far, but we will not allow the govt to implement the project here.

”The Saturday march received formal backing from the powerful Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS). Announcing the rally, KRRS functionary KT Gangadhar strongly criticized the state’s aggressive push into rural zones, alleging that the administration is systematically swallowing up fertile land under the guise of urban development.“Instead of rendering cultivators landless, the govt should focus on making agriculture a profitable occupation,” Gangadhar said, adding that the unified march will push the state to withdraw all land acquisition processes across the three affected clusters of Bidadi, Sarjapura, and Jangamakote.