Devanahalli farmers' 'boycott election call 'withdrawn, after authorities assure them

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: Farmers who had been protesting for the past two years at Channarayapatna hobli of Devanahalli taluk to save their land from acquisition, withdrew their call to boycott elections after the District Commissioner and other authorities assured them of holding talks with them after the Lok Sabha polls.

The authorities also requested the farmers to withhold the protest until the completion of elections.

For over 752 days, the farmers had been protesting on the site demanding the State government to withdraw the notification for acquiring 1,777 acres of land spread in 13 villages for an industrial project.

With little or no assurance from the authorities all these months, the farmers had decided not to vote in the Lok Sabha elections, to protest the alleged apathy of the political class over their basic demands.

However on Monday, the District Commissioner of Bengaluru Rural District N Shivashankar along with District Superintendent of Police (SP) Mallikarjun Baladandi, Tahsildar Shivraj and other officials visited the agitating farmers at the site and request them to withdraw their protest and the call for 'boycott elections.'

The authorities assured that soon after the elections, a meeting will be fixed between the famers and the state authorities to come to a conclusion on the matter.

"MLA KH Muniyappa had also visited our site and requested us to vote. He further promised to come out with a solution and to make sincere efforts to ensure no injustice be done to the farmers," said CS Girish, one of the farmers.

The protesters are still concerned that the proposed acquisition will have a far-reaching impact on the lives of people living in the villages where lands have been identified for the proposed Haralur Industrial Development project.

The area is known for cultivating food grains, fruits such as grapes, pomegranates, and mango.

Vast land patches growing roses and other flowers can be seen in the notified area. Farmers are into integrated farming and are also earning livelihood from sericulur.