Farmers’ fury clouds Bengaluru’s second airport, defence corridors | Bengaluru News

Bengaluru: The govt’s plan to fast-track a second international airport for Bengaluru has run into turbulence with farmers set to intensify protests over land acquisition near Devanahalli. The agitation, driven by resistance to a proposed hi-tech defence and aerospace park, has cast a shadow over not just the airport project but several other mega infrastructure plans around the state’s capital.Amid the unrest, infrastructure development minister, MB Patil, is scheduled to meet Union civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu next week to push for a pending report from Airports Authority of India (AAI). AAI officials had visited three shortlisted sites in April —two along Kanakapura Road in Bengaluru South and one near Nelamangala-Kunigal Road in Bengaluru Rural — but a report is still awaited.“The AAI report is crucial without which we cannot move on the project,” Patil said. “I will meet the civil aviation minister, and we will appoint agencies to study viability and feasibility, once we get the report.”The project would require an estimated 5,000 acres but opposition is mounting, especially from farmers in Bengaluru Rural and Bengaluru South districts. Local elected representatives, including Nelamangala Congress MLA Shreenivasaiah and BJP MP from Bengaluru Rural Dr CN Manjunath, have backed farmers.At the heart of the protests is the final notification issued by the govt to acquire 1,777 acres in and around Channarayapatna village for a defence park. Farmers are demanding its withdrawal, fearing forced displacement.Alarmed by the growing unrest, chief minister Siddaramaiah set Tuesday as the deadline to resolve the dispute. He assured farmers of a solution when their representatives met him last week.“We have been keenly observing the govt’s moves and developments are not encouraging, as the govt is proposing to declare the entire area a green zone,” said T Yaswantha, general secretary, Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha (KRRS), which is spearheading protests. “This is a conspiracy to gain control over land owned by farmers. The govt has also come up with a new proposal to develop two defence corridors. We would have no option but to intensify agitations. However, we will wait for the outcome of Tuesday’s meeting.”On Wednesday in New Delhi, Siddaramaiah had met defence minister Rajnath Singh and submitted proposals for two defence corridors — Bengaluru Rural-Kolar-Chikkaballapur and Hubballi-Belagavi-Vijayapura.With nearly 90,000 acres needed for various upcoming projects — including KWIN City, five integrated townships and five theme-based townships — farmer resistance is turning into a major roadblock.“It is a fact that land acquisition has become a big challenge,” said Patil. “I discussed it with the chief minister, and we are trying to arrive at a solution to balance development and the protection of agricultural interests.”