In a major turning point in the protest against the proposed Bidadi Integrated Township, Nikhil Kumaraswamy, president of the Janata Dal (Secular) youth wing, on Sunday took the standoff to the ground by undertaking a protest march through eight villages slated for acquisition.

Mr. Nikhil said former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda had written to Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar urging him to drop the Bidadi Integrated Township project. “If the response is not satisfactory, Mr. Deve Gowda will launch a hunger strike,” he announced.

Mr. Nikhil covered 11 km on foot, joined by hundreds of farmers amid slogans against the project. “Kodalla, Bidalla, Maaralla” (“We won’t give, we won’t leave, and we won’t sell”) echoed across the villages during the march. He stopped at every village to interact with farmers.

He covered Anchipura, Anchipura Colony, Bannigiri, Merwegowdanadoddi, Gunduthopu, Gollahalli, Kodipalya and Hosuru villages.

The march marks the first major on-ground political protest against the project, even as the Greater Bengaluru Development Authority (GBDA) prepares to issue the final notification for the second batch of villages.

Mr. Nikhil’s protest comes days after Magadi MLA H.C. Balakrishna distributed cheques to seven farmers who agreed to part with their land. Last week, the GBDA issued a final notification to acquire 519 acres of land, a majority of it belonging to farmers holding less than an acre.

Since then, Mr. Balakrishna has been actively backing the project and supporting Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who is spearheading the township initiative and has maintained that it was the brainchild of former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy.

Farmers’ cause

For months, D.K. Shivakumar has maintained that even the family of former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy owns land in the villages earmarked for acquisition. Several posters highlighting the issue have also appeared across these villages.

Hitting out at these developments, Mr. Nikhil assured farmers that if the government drops the project, he would dedicate his family’s land for hospitals and schools for farmers’ children and ensure free services.

He also urged farmers not to fall into the trap of the GBDA allegedly enticing landowners by issuing cheques to a few of them. Stressing that his agitation was not politically motivated, Mr. Nikhil said: “As the son of a farming family, I am here for farmers and not for any political gain. We will never do politics when the matter concerns farmers.”

Mr. Nikhil indicated that support would be extended to farmers who choose to pursue legal remedies, though he did not specify whether the assistance would be financial. However, a farmer leader from the region told The Hindu that H.D. Kumaraswamy’s family would appoint advocates to fight legal battles on behalf of the farmers.