Bengaluru: Intensifying their protest against the proposed Bidadi Township project, farmers from Byramangala and Kanchagaranahalli gram panchayats on Sunday staged a unique Appiko (tree-hugging) movement, urging the state govt to abandon the project and protect the region’s green cover.Carrying placards with slogans such as “Nature is ours, the future is ours” and “Protect trees, nature is our mother; don’t destroy it in the name of development,” the farmers marched from Byramangala village to Bannigiri village as part of the protest.More than 100 farmers, including women and children, gathered at coconut and areca nut farms. Women farmers performed a special puja to a coconut tree, revered as the Kalpavruksha, highlighting the cultural and environmental significance of preserving trees.The protesters later hugged coconut and areca nut trees to register their opposition to the project. They raised slogans against the state govt and appealed for the protection of more than 15 lakh trees that they claim fall within the proposed township project area. They argued that large-scale felling of trees would cause irreversible environmental damage.Children also joined the agitation by hugging trees and conveying the message that they would not allow them to be cut down. Farmers said they had nurtured the trees like their own children and vowed to continue their struggle to prevent their destruction.Prakash HG, a farmer and former Taluk Panchayat member, said the Appiko movement was a symbolic protest. “We will intensify the agitation and will not allow the govt to destroy nature in the name of development,” he said.Another farmer, Hanumantharayappa of Bannigiri village, said the farmers had unanimously decided not to part with their land for the project. He alleged that Congress leaders were falsely claiming that a majority of farmers had agreed to the township project.“That is completely false. Farmers have not given their consent to the project,” he said.
