Bengaluru: Former Prime Minister and JD(S) patriarch HD Deve Gowda Tuesday urged chief minister DK Shivakumar not to “destroy the livelihood of farmers” by proceeding with the proposed Greater Bengaluru Integrated Township (GBIT) at Bidadi. He also demanded that the govt withdraw FIRs registered against protesting farmers.Escalating his opposition to the project, Gowda said he would launch a satyagraha at Mahatma Gandhi statue at Vidhana Soudha if the township proposal was not permanently withdrawn. He claimed the project was being pursued to fulfil commitments Shivakumar made to Congress’ high command to become CM.At a news conference, he appealed to Shivakumar, saying: “There are many other ways to fulfil your promises to the high command. Don’t destroy the livelihood of farmers. Don’t push me to sit with farmers against the township project.”Gowda said he had written in detail to the CM on June 25. “But even after 20 days they have not even sent a courtesy reply. I explained every aspect of the issue in that letter,” he said.He said the township would displace thousands of farming families while placing a heavy financial burden on the state. Referring to the govt’s decision to temporarily halt land surveys after protests, he urged it to abandon the proposal.“There is enough land and vacant housing available for urban development without acquiring fertile agricultural land,” he said. “Let the CM show magnanimity. More than 40,000 sites are available in Bengaluru. Besides that, many apartments are lying vacant. Let the govt use those instead.”He said he stayed away from the protest site to avoid allegations of instigating farmers and urged the CM: “Withdraw FIRs filed against farmers. You must understand the pain of the farmers.”The proposed AI-powered township, spread over 9,600 acres some 40km from Bengaluru, has triggered sustained protests by farmers opposed to the acquisition of fertile agricultural land. The agitation intensified after farmers, many of them women, forced survey teams to retreat and clashed with police, prompting the govt to suspend the survey.
