Bidadi Township row turns violent as broom-wielding farmers attack surveyors
Angry women farmers seen with brooms
Angry women farmers seen with brooms
Bengaluru:The controversy surrounding the proposed Bidadi Township project took a violent turn on Monday morning when scores of broom-wielding farmers beat up land surveyors at Mandalahalli village in Ramanagara-Bengaluru South district.The incident comes amid an ongoing shadow-boxing match between Karnataka chief minister D K Shivakumar and Union minister for heavy industries H D Kumaraswamy.According to officials, a 15-member team from the Joint Measurement Committee (JMC) arrived in two MUVs at Mandalahalli to survey lands belonging to four farmers who had consented to sell their property for the proposed township. However, several neighbouring farmers, opposed to the project, confronted the officials, claiming they had not been informed about the survey in advance. They demanded an explanation to the petitions and applications they had submitted.The situation escalated when one of the officials allegedly spoke rudely to the farmers. The latter damaged the vehicles in which the officials had arrived. Women farmers were seen chasing the officials and thrashing them with brooms, forcing the survey team to scurry for cover. The situation was brought under control after additional police personnel, including from the Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) were deployed.Senior police officers rushed additional personnel to Mandlahalli to prevent any untoward incident.As farmers tried to pull the JMC officials away, some pushed police personnel, prompting cops to claim that they too were assaulted in the melee. By late afternoon, police had detained more than 50 farmers, including women, before releasing them later in the day.Farmer leader Mandalahalli Nagaraj, said the violence erupted after a few survey officials allegedly abused a woman farmer and addressed her in the singular. “One of the officials asked her what she eats. Is this the way to talk to a woman?” Nagaraj asked.“What about farmers like me who have not agreed to sell our lands? For last one and half year, we have written innumerable petitions and we have yet to receive a reply. This apathy got our goat. We had come to seek explanation from officials,” he said, adding that “the JMC hoodwinked us by making us wait while they reached the sellers land using a different route. We went there to question them. Then, one of the officials insulted a woman, leading to the violence,” he said.JD(S) leader Nikhil Kumaraswamy condemned the incident. “It is most unfortunate that the govt has failed to understand farmers’ sentiments. It must abandon the Bidadi Township project.”Inspector General of Police-Central Range S Girish told TOI that they will be registering two FIRs. “The first complaint will be taken from a JMC surveyor, second will be made by police for attacking govt officials and obstructing them while discharging their duties. “
