Gowda leads Karnataka farmers protests in Delhi - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda led hundreds of farmers from Karnataka in a protest here on Wednesday against land acquisition for the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project. Supported by Left leaders and Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh, Gowda called the protest an extension of his fight against land acquisition by the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises Ltd (NICE), the private company implementing the project. "The project company wants to loot and is not interested in completing the project. We wanted to raise the problems of suffering farmers at national level," Gowda said. "In the name of construction of roads in New Delhi, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Moradabad, Aligarh, the long stretches of agricultural lands are being destructed. All the land is gone in the name of SEZ. Due to the policies of this country, the farmers will die of hunger. It is good that the roads are being constructed but it should not be responsible for the destruction of arable lands," said Sharad Yadav, the chief of rJanata Dal (United). Deve Gowda had planned a two-day demo-rally in Delhi with a deputation being taken to Meira Kumar, Speaker of the Lok Sabha. Deve Gowda alleged that the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises Ltd. (NICE) - the private company implementing the project- is not interested in completing the project. His apprehension is that NICE will sell the land that has been acquired for the BMIC project and exit the scene.