Farmers’ march hits traffic on Ballari Road

BENGALURU: Thousands of farmers from 17 villages, who could lose land to the Dr Shivaram Karanth Layout being developed by the BDA, took out a procession from Sahakarnagar to Mourya Circle to protest the project on Tuesday. As a result, traffic on Ballari Road came to standstill in the forenoon. Snarls were the norm for nearly two hours on the national highway, especially near Mehkri Circle.
Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS), Hasiru Sene and Dr Shivaram Karanth Badavane Horata Samiti led the protest march. They demanded the government to drop the project.
Kodihalli Chandrashekhar, president of KRRS, alleged that the layout was nothing but a Rs 4,500-crore scandal. The agitators said the BDA had issued a preliminary notification to acquire 3,546 acres and 12 guntas of land spread over 17 villages for the layout. They said the government got the Supreme Court to lift the high court’s stay on the notification by keeping the apex court in the dark on the fact that over 25,000 houses and apartment complexes stood on the notified land.