The All India Students’ Association (AISA) and Fridays For Future (FFF) organised a joint protest in solidarity with the farmers’ struggle at Devanahalli. The protest was organised at the Freedom Park in Bengaluru on July 22, and around 20 people, including four farmers from Devanahalli gathered at the park. Farmers in Devanahalli have been on an indefinite strike for more than 120 days in protest against the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board’s (KIADB) plan of acquiring 1,777 acres of fertile agricultural land.
The KIADB plan for land acquisition is for the state government to open a global tender and invite industries to set up their plants in Devanahalli. On August 27, 2021, a gazette notice for the acquisition process was issued, however, the farmers received the notice only in January 2022. If the plan goes through, 387 families will be rendered landless and many more will suffer in other ways. The farmers described their ordeal stating how they have held negotiations with various ministers including the Chief Minister, Basavaraj Bommai, continually without any solution in sight.
Speaking to TNM, Karalli Srinivas, a farmer and member of Bhoo Svadheena Virodhi Horata Samiti, a farmers’ collective working against land acquisition, highlighted how the community of farmers at Devanahalli is the one that provides Bengaluru with a major chunk of its daily grocery needs. “Our land is very fertile and the farmers are very content with their work, we treat it as our motherland. The factories, on the other hand, will not give us food. That’s why we are protesting,” he said.
Nandan, who is an engineering student and hails from a family of farmers, expressed his concerns on the growing unemployment crisis in India. He said, “The only security that I have is our land, and if I do not get a job after graduation, I will also take up farming. If our land is also taken away from us, where will I go?”
“We’re not against development, we’re against development that has a significant negative impact. The industries can be set up on barren land, why is the government after fertile lands?” said Sharath, who is a student activist from AISA.
Leon Louis, another activist from AISA, explained the context behind such protests: “Ever since the Modi government has come to power, they have been trying to dilute environment protection laws. This gives industries a free hand for land acquisition. If one community can be stripped away of their livelihoods without consulting them, then it can be done to other communities as well. We have laws but the government itself is the biggest law breaker, they are the real criminals here,” he alleged. Student activists from FFF, Simran and Richa, pointed out how the issue of farmers losing their livelihood is not just a social but an environmental concern given the track record of factories causing massive pollution.
The land acquisition in Devanahalli is not an isolated issue but rather a part of a larger systemic issue. According to a report by The Quint, the first phase of the KIADB's land acquisition for the development of the Haraluru Industrial Area included the purchase of 1,282 acres of land around 2018. Over 50% of the farmers are yet to get their compensation, despite being promised Rs 1.1 crore per acre back then. Earlier in 2013, a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) was established in Channarayapatna Hobli, which cost the nearby villages approximately 900 acres. A total of more than 5,000 acres of land have been lost by 13 villages in Devanahalli since 2013.
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