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Displaced villagers protest for ‘promised compensation’ in exchange for lands for Karanja irrigation project
Kallappa Rathod, a 58-year-old farmer leading the protest by 28 villages, highlighted the plight of hundreds of families whose agricultural land was taken.
Belagavi: The displaced villagers of the Karanja irrigation project in Bidar district, who have been protesting for past 885 days, have slammed the government for not giving the compensation that was assured in exchange for the land where they resided and agricultural lands that were acquired for the project.
Kallappa Rathod, a 58-year-old farmer leading the protest by 28 villages, highlighted the plight of hundreds of families whose agricultural land was taken. “In 2022, we started protest demanding the compensation that was assured to us for our lands that became a part of the Karanja irrigation project. Now, it has been about 885 days of our protest. Many of us have received either partial compensation or none at all. Only a few were fully compensated,” he said.
Deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar had assured a delegation of protesters during the Belagavi legislature session last year that their dues would be cleared before the 2024 budget. Similarly, chief minister Siddaramaiah promised during the last Lok Sabha elections while seeking votes for Congress candidate Sagar Khandre.
Rathod expressed regret over trusting the promises: “We elected Khandre, but he has not turned back to help us.”
In a memorandum submitted to the district administration and Bidar superintendent of police on November 25, they warned of taking drastic measures if their demands are not met.
Balu Kadoli, who has participated in the protest for over 200 days, acknowledged the benefits the Karanja project in the region. He said that the once-drought-prone and arid lands of Bidar have been transformed into lush, irrigated fields, solving drinking water problems and enhancing quality of life. However, he lamented the cost borne by the displaced.
“We sacrificed everything—our land, our homes—for this project, yet we remain uncompensated. The government has left us like orphans,” he said.
Among the protesters is Parvati Naik. Married 30 years ago to a man claiming to own 2.5 acres of land, she found that the land had been submerged due to the project. Now a mother of five, she struggles everyday to find matches for her sons, who neither own a home nor land. “The government has cheated poor people like us by not fulfilling its promises,” she said.
Bidar MP Sagar Khandre, who claimed to have visited the protesters several times, attributed the delays in compensation to technical hurdles. “Many affected individuals lack the proper documentation to prove their claims. Compensation has been given to those with clear documentation, and the pending cases will be addressed on humanitarian grounds,” he stated.
Bidar deputy commissioner Shilpa Sharma said that compensation had been delayed due to mismatched or missing documents. “We are following procedural guidelines. The delays are administrative, not intentional,” she said, urging protesters to cooperate with the process.
