Prakash Raj, activists join 1,000th day of land acquisition protest in Devanahalli

Bengaluru: Around 1,000 people gathered in Channarayapatna, Devanahalli, on Monday to mark the 1,000th day of the protest against the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) land acquisition, which began on December 28.

The event was attended by personalities such as actor Prakash Raj, retired Supreme Court Justice V Gopala Gowda, writer Prof SG Siddaramaiah, farmers' activist Chukki Nanjundaswamy, and Dalit activist Mavalli Shankar.

The protest was sparked when the KIADB began issuing notices to farmers for the acquisition of 1,777 acres of land. In response, farmers launched an indefinite dharna on April 4, 2022, to oppose the acquisition.

Prakash Raj criticised the government's stance, claiming that all governments are anti-people and anti-farmer. He recalled how, when Siddaramaiah was in the opposition, he had pledged that, if elected, his government would support farmers.

"It’s been one-and-a-half years since Siddaramaiah came to power. Are farmers only needed for votes? If you continue to build industries on fertile land, what will we eat in the future? If the farmers die, understand that the rest of us won’t survive," he said.

Nanjundaswamy emphasised that the struggle was not limited to the 13 villages facing land acquisition, but was part of a larger fight to protect the culture of farming in India.

"About 77.7% of the people have said they will not give up their land. According to the law implemented by the Manmohan Singh government, land cannot be acquired if there is opposition from the majority. Despite this, the government is still pushing forward with the acquisition after a thousand days of struggle," she said.