Bagalkot farmers protest gets support of leaders from both the Congress and BJP

Leaders from Congress and BJP support Bagalkot farmers' protest for timely completion of Upper Krishna irrigation projects.

A protest by farmers in Bagalkot seeking expeditious completion of the Upper Krishna irrigation projects received support from leaders cutting across party lines.

Leaders from the Congress and the BJP supported the protest by members of the Upper Krishna Project (UKP)-affected families in front of the district administrative building in Nava Nagar there on Wednesday.

A protest march started from Kalidasa Circle and went through the main streets of the city before ending at the district administration building. Folk artists performed along the route of the protest march. Later, the protestors sat in dharna in a tent.

The protestors are demanding that the State government release adequate funds and complete all the pending projects in the Krishna basin in a scheduled time. They insisted that their focus is not politics but irrigation of farms in arid North Karnataka.

They said that they will continue the protest indefinitely, till they get concrete assurances from the government.

Their demands include starting land acquisition and construction of channels for the third phase of the UKP, raising the dam height and release of compensation to land losers.

Leaders who visited the protestors said that they will support their demands for fair price for the land acquired from farmers, rehabilitation and reservation facilities for land-losing families in education and employment.