BENGALURU: Hundreds of farmers on Tuesday laid siege to the Anekal taluk office, on the outskirts of Bengaluru, demanding that the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) drop its land acquisition plans.
The agitation comes after KIADB recently issued the final acquisition order for the state government’s ambitious SWIFT City (Startups, Workspaces, Innovation, Finance, and Technology) project in Sarjapur.
Before marching to the taluk office, farmers took out a massive rally in Anekal town, raising slogans such as “Our Land, Our Right”. Police attempted to block them by shutting the office gates, but as the crowd swelled, the farmers pushed through and gathered at the main entrance. Tension gripped the taluk office, as hundreds of agitators tried to enter it. The police, however, managed to contain the situation and stopped the farmers.
Additional police personnel were later deployed for security. The farmers have warned that their protests will intensify, should the government decide not to roll back its plan of to acquire.