There is no end in sight to the persistent struggle of the farmers of Kochanahalli near Nanjangud for justice and restoration of land which was acquired from them for a pittance more than 10 years ago.
Nearly 400 acres of land in and around Kochanahalli in Varuna hobli was acquired and changed hands after the farmers were promised of “permanent jobs’’ besides gainful employment at a golf course and resort which was mooted in the area. The transaction took place between 2004 and 2007 and more than 200 farmers fell prey to the marketing tactics of the company.
The farmers, who have now come under flak for being naïve to believe such claims, were paid a sum of ₹1.5 lakh per acre with an “employment letter’’. But as it transpired, not only did the project fail to take off but the land ownership changed and a portion of it has been resold to Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) at nearly ₹47.5 lakh per acre.
“‘This was a huge fraud perpetuated on the farmers as land was acquired at a pittance but sold at a higher rate to KIADB resulting in huge profit to the project proponents’’, said Harish of Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI) which is supporting the farmers agitation. “Out of nearly 400 acres, nearly 197 hectares has now been sold to KIADB and we want it to be transferred to the name of the original land owners who are the farmers’’, he added.
Though the issue is being raised frequently with political parties there has been no response so far and on the contrary the farmer have been upbraided for being gullible so as to sell of their land en masse. “’From being proud farmers cultivating food, they were reduced to being landless labourers forced to work on their own land as daily wagers.” said Devanna Govindaraju, one of the farmers from the region.
In a renewed effort to draw the attention of the district administration and the State government, farmers of the region took to a sit down strike on the land acquired from them and it recently completed 100 days with no sign of abating. “‘’During the lockdown period, about 15 t0 20 farmers used to participate in the strike but now the number has increased to nearly 50 farmers on a daily basis’’, Mr. Harish added.
Meanwhile, the farmers cultivated crops on the land that once belonged to them despite being cautioned against trespassing. They said that in case the Deputy Commissioner of the district did not respond to their stir before July 10, they would take out a padayatra to Mysuru and stage a dharna in front of the DC’s office. The agitation is being supported by Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS), Hasiru Sene, All India United Trade Union Centre, Swaraj India and other farmer groups.
Published - July 08, 2021 07:05 pm IST
