‘Should We Sell Our Land and Go Clean Bathrooms?’ 80-Year-Old Bidadi Woman Rejects Township Land Acquisition
Bidadi/Bengaluru: An 80-year-old woman from Bidadi Baana who joined the protest against the proposed Bidadi Township on Monday strongly rejected the prospect of giving up agricultural land, asking where farming families would go after surrendering the property on which they depend for their livelihood.
Speaking during the padayatra against the township project, the elderly woman said her family would not part with its land regardless of the compensation offered and questioned whether farmers were expected to give up their fields and eventually work in other people’s homes to survive.
“Why should we give our land? Where will our children and grandchildren go?” she asked, saying the family had cultivated crops, including ragi and jowar, and invested its own money in developing irrigation facilities.
When told that the government intended to proceed with the township and that land would be required for it, she responded defiantly that the government could try if it had the strength, while farmers too had the strength to resist.
She said there was no question of voluntarily surrendering the land. The agricultural property, she said, had to be preserved for the next generations rather than given up for the project.
Responding to the prospect of higher compensation, the woman said money was not a substitute for agricultural land. She rejected the offer of additional payment and said the government could keep its money.
“What will that money do for us after a few days? Should we give away our land and then go to their houses to clean bathrooms and do domestic work?” she asked.
The woman said her family had about an acre of land and cultivated crops including ragi and jowar. She said they had sunk two borewells using their own money and spent substantial amounts to secure water for cultivation.
“We have installed our own borewells, spent lakhs of rupees and arranged water ourselves. We are cultivating the land,” she said, explaining why the family was determined to retain it.
Another woman participating in the protest similarly said farmers were opposing the project precisely because they did not want their land to be acquired. She said those willing to sell could do so, but families dependent on their existing holdings should be allowed to continue farming.
“We are poor people. Why are they coming after the land of the poor? Where are we supposed to go?” she asked, reiterating that she would not surrender her land under any circumstances.
The women also rejected criticism from the Congress that the opposition programme was a ‘prayaschitta yatra’ rather than a genuine padayatra. The elderly participant said such criticism would not deter them from continuing the protest.
She said she had joined the padayatra and would continue participating in the agitation. Referring to JD(S) leaders Nikhil Kumaraswamy and H.D. Kumaraswamy, she said their support had given the protesting farmers confidence.
The woman’s remarks reflected the livelihood concerns being voiced by farmers participating in the agitation, with agricultural land, intergenerational security and the fear of losing a self-sustaining livelihood emerging as central issues in their opposition to the Bidadi Township project.
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