Bidadi Farmers Launch Appiko Drive to Protest Proposed Township Project

On Sunday, local farmers launched an "Appiko Drive" protest from Bairamangala to Bannigiri village in Bidadi to oppose the proposed Bidadi Township Project. The protestors hugged trees along the route to highlight the potential destruction of the local green cover that the government project is expected to cause.

The demonstration was organized to draw attention to what the farmers described as a contradiction in the state government's environmental policies. They pointed out that while the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) recently conducted a record-breaking plantation drive in Bengaluru, the government is simultaneously planning to clear existing green cover in the outskirts.

The protest march began in Bairamangala and culminated in Bannigiri village, where hundreds of participating farmers hugged trees to express their resistance. The action was modeled after the Chipko Movement, a historic forest conservation movement in India.

Speaking about the protest, Nagaraju M.R., a farmer leader from Mandallahalli, criticized the stance of the Congress-led government. He questioned the fairness of destroying established green spaces in rural outskirts while promoting green initiatives within the city limits.

"In Bengaluru, the Chief Minister called for planting as many saplings as possible to improve the city’s green cover, while he is ready to destroy a massive green cover here in Bidadi," Nagaraju M.R. said. "Is this the treatment we deserve while the people in the city get green cover? What is the point of planting so many saplings when there is no genuine intention to protect the existing green cover?"

On the same day as the protest, Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar received a Guinness World Records plaque for driving the record plantation of 15 lakh saplings to mark Kempegowda Jayanti.

Despite the opposition, the Greater Bengaluru Development Authority (GBDA) defended the township project. The authority maintained that the Bidadi Township Project remains critical for the development of Bengaluru and will significantly benefit the economy of Karnataka.