Farmers plan march to Shikaripur

The group will hold a rally and public meeting in Shikaripur, forum general secretary G N Rajashekara Naidu Gudibande told reporters here on Saturday.

Gudibande said the State government had not cleared a single application filed by unauthorised cultivators in 1999.

 "About 1.92 lakh applications are pending seeking regularisation 26.55 lakh acres of land across the state. The government has made no effort to distribute the land among the applicants. Instead, it is busy giving away land to multi-national companies."

The farmers can neither obtain loans from the banks nor apply for crop insurance since they are not the lawful owners of the land.

"The government is taking away the livelihood of these people. In fact, the Gulbarga Circuit bench of the High Court had ordered the government to regularise the lands within six months, but nothing has come of it," he said.

Hence, the farmers decided to stage the protest in Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa's constituency, intending to stay put in Shikaripur till they receive the land title deeds.