Bengaluru: Farmers in Bidadi region have accused the state govt of going back on its assurance that it would not forcibly acquire land for the proposed Bidadi Township project, pointing out that the govt has proceeded with the final notification to acquire around 9,600 acres across nine villages.The govt issued a final notification Friday covering land in Kanchugaranahalli and Byramangala villages. Opposing the move, farmers have decided to revive their agitation next week. They will hold an interaction programme on Saturday at Hosur village near Bidadi to discuss their next course of action.Prakash HG, a farmer and ex-member of taluk panchayat, told TOI farmers will stage a major protest outside the Greater Bengaluru Development Authority (GBDA) office in Bengaluru on Nov 12. He said farmers from all nine villages and their supporters would attend Saturday’s meeting.“The protest was intense until the end of July. Farmers returned to their agricultural activities after CM DK Shivakumar assured us that the govt would not rush the land acquisition process or forcibly take our land. However, he has now gone back on his promise and continued the acquisition process,” Prakash alleged.He said farmers decided to resume their agitation to protect their fertile agricultural land.Farmers also questioned the functioning of a committee constituted by the state govt to examine the project’s merits and demerits. They alleged that members of the panel visited only lakes in the area and did not interact with farmers to understand ground realities. “Although the committee is yet to submit its report to the govt, the land acquisition process has been finalised,” Prakash alleged.Meanwhile, youngsters from villages in the area have launched a social media campaign titled ‘Save Bidadi’ to oppose the project. Bharat Kumar, a farmer from Hosur village, said the campaign had received a good response, with several social media users expressing support for farmers and raising concerns about the impact on agriculture and the environment.“We were misled by the state govt and withdrew our protest after it assured us that our land would not be acquired forcibly,” Bharat said. “Now that it has issued the final notification, we feel betrayed and will intensify our agitation.”
