Police Block Kodagu Farmers Union Heading for Protest Against the Bidadi Township Project Rally

Kodagu Police block members of the Kodagu Farmers' Union as they head to participate in a protest against the Bidadi Township Project on Friday. Photo: Special Arrangement.

Ponnampet: High drama unfolded near Thithimathi in Kodagu district on Friday when police allegedly stopped a bus carrying members of the Kodagu District Farmers Union. The farmers were en route to Bidadi, near Bengaluru, to participate in a protest against the Bidadi Township Project organised in solidarity with local agriculturalists.

Despite rain, the farmers staged an impromptu sit-in on the road, shouting slogans against the state government and the district administration for curbing their movement.

Agitating farmers argued that they were traveling peacefully to exercise their fundamental democratic right to protest. However, police officials maintained that the bus was halted midway as a precautionary measure to preserve law and order in the region. The standoff led to heated discussions between police personnel and farmer leaders, during which tight police security was deployed throughout the Thithimathi stretch to manage traffic and prevent further escalation.

A protesting farmer in a video message urged Virajpet MLA A.S. Ponnanna to come to the spot, stating that they would continue their peaceful protest on the road until he arrived. Questioning the police blockade, he asked why farmers are barred from protesting here when Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar goes to Delhi to protest against the exam paper leaks.

The protest in Bidadi near Bengaluru stems from an escalating, high-stakes conflict between the Karnataka government and local farmers over the proposed Greater Bengaluru Integrated Township (popularly known as the Bidadi AI Township project). Local farmers in Bhairamangala and surrounding villages near Bidadi have been protesting for the last few months, fearing the acquisition of thousands of acres of fertile, multi-crop agricultural land.

The dispute has intensified recently as official land measurement surveys began, leading to clashes between resident agriculturalists and survey officials. While the state government projects the township as a futuristic urban hub essential for regional growth, farmers and agrarian bodies—backed by state farmer organisations like the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS)—argue that the project threatens food security and traditional rural livelihoods.

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