Over 150 farmers, whose farmlands are often enveloped by dust from the construction of the second terminal at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru, took to the streets of Bettakote village on Tuesday to protest against ‘broken promises’ of compensation for crop loss.
They blocked a road leading to the airport, which is used by trucks carrying mud and construction material to and fro from the construction site, for over two hours. The protest ended only when the police and Devanahalli taluk administration convinced farmers that their losses would be compensated.
While it has been over three years since construction of Terminal II and a second runway at the airport begun, this monsoon season has seen dust storms arising from the construction site. Farmers claimed the dust is ruining mulberry crop and the silkworms that feed on it.
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In the first week of July, farmers in Bettakote protested, leading to a meeting on July 9 where officials from KIAL and the district administration agreed to a slew of mitigation measures, including compensation for the crop loss.
The sericulture survey showed that over 150 farmers had suffered losses of around ₹40 lakh cumulatively due to the winds. “The pre-monsoon and monsoon season is the most lucrative for mulberry farming, and farmers used to get two crops. We found that both crops have been damaged, and each farmer may have lost up to ₹30,000 per acre,” said an official who conducted the survey.
The survey reports were sent on July 24 to the tehsildar’s office.
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“Dust continues to fly into our fields while we have lost crop and are going into debt. Truck activity into KIAL construction has also increased,” said Munikrishna, a farmer who was a part of the protest.
The Devanahalli taluk office claimed that the survey documents could not be found in the office after the previous tehsildar retired.
“I procured the survey documents from villagers on Tuesday. We will process it immediately. There has been widespread loss in sericulture, flowers, vegetables and cattle fodder. We will soon send the compensation requests to the airport authorities,” said H. Balakrishna, Devanahalli tehsildar who had taken charge recently.
A spokesperson for Bangalore International Airport Limited said that they were awaiting directions from governments departments on the compensation to be paid.