On June 26, 2022, a large public meeting of hundreds of farmers was organised by the Struggle Committee Against Land Acquisition in the Devanahalli tehsil of Bengaluru Rural district. One of the major constituents of the Struggle Committee is the Karnataka Pranta Raita Sangha (KPRS/AIKS).
The public meeting was addressed by AIKS President Dr Ashok Dhawale, AIKS Karnataka state secretary U Basavaraja, district secretary Chandra Tejaswi, state council member T Yashavantha, and Convenor of the Struggle Committee Maregowda.
The dharna at Devanahalli against land acquisition had entered its 84th day. The Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) has given notices to acquire 1777 acres of land to hundreds of farmers in 13 villages. This is all fertile land which supports sericulture, horticulture (mainly grapes), floriculture, vegetables and dairy. All this will be lost if peasants lose their land.
Last year in 2021, the KIADB acquired 1300 acres of land from around the same area. Discontent had already been building up against this. In 2016, another 1000 acres were acquired from farmers for an SEZ, of which over 700 acres still remain vacant. Earlier, in 2001, 1500 acres were acquired for the new Bengaluru international airport. It is precisely due to the proximity of the airport that land in this area is being acquired, not for industries and employment opportunities, but for real estate profiteering under the direction of the BJP state government. This has further incensed the peasantry, because nearly 5000 acres of land has been, or will be, acquired in this area.
AIKS leaders who spoke congratulated the farmers on their protracted struggle, and called for intensifying it by diversifying the forms of struggle and ensuring greater mobilisation.
Earlier, Dr Ashok Dhawale and U Basavaraja addressed a well-attended press conference at Chikkaballapur. They hit out at the BJP central government on burning issues like the vindictive arrest of Teesta Setalvad, the anti-national and anti-youth Agnipath scheme, the refusal to give legal guarantee to MSP and procurement; and at the BJP Karnataka state government for its three anti-farmer and pro-corporate Farm Laws.
