STANDSTILL: Following the protest by villagers work on the stretch between Somapura and Mysore of the BMIC project has come to a halt. — Photo: K. Murali Kumar

Bangalore: The controversy surrounding the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project has taken a new turn with farmers from the villages dotting the project area alleging that the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE), which is executing the project, itself had damaged the road.

Speaking to The Hindu on Monday, Panchalingaiah, president of the Raitha Hitarakshana Horata Samiti, said farmers from villages in and around the site had united and were staging the protest. He said that farmers of Thalghatpura, Hemmigepura and surrounding villages were not responsible for the damage to the road. "NICE used a excavator in the dead of the night, damaged the road and put the blame on the farmers," he said.

Mr. Panchalingaiah also said there was no political hand behind the issue. "That is what the officials of NICE want the people to believe. Farmers who owe allegiance to different political parties have come together to fight against the injustice," he said.

Jayaram Gowda, a BJP worker, who was present at the site, claimed that NICE had destroyed the land in and around the project site. "Due to the movement of trucks and other heavy vehicles, the condition of the approach and the service roads has worsened. They promised to repair them, but nothing has been done so far," he charged.

Mr. Gowda claimed that the company had promised to give toll-free passes to villagers and also assured them of employment. "We asked them to give it to us in writing, but it was refused. They are now going back on their word. The farmers who gave up their land have not yet got their sale deed. When it acquired the land for the project, NICE promised a 60 X 40 site for every acre. Only a few have got the sites. What about the rest?"

He alleged that the company was trying to tarnish the image of farmers. "The company did not make any plans public, unlike the Bangalore Development Authority, which has put up public notices for the welfare of the people in the area. No such thing was done for this project," said another villager. One more villager complained that the underpasses that had been constructed were very narrow. "NICE is acting like a real estate agent in the area," he charged. Mr. Gowda alleged that NICE had been draining out wastewater by letting it flow into the fields nearby.

"Our lands are losing fertility because of that. When we questioned the NICE officials on this, they said they had no other option," he pointed out. When contacted, a spokesman for NICE said the photographs said it all. "Why would we try to damage the property we have struggled to build? They have suddenly started blaming us," he said. He also alleged that two Janata Dal (Secular) members were behind the controversy. "We worked in that place for over two years. They could have taken up the issue then. How is that they are suddenly feeling cheated?"

He said the company did not promise toll-free passes to the villagers. "We made no such assurance. We cannot be selective and it is not right to do so either," he added. Work on the stretch from Somapura to Mysore had stopped, while work on the Somapura-Kanakapura stretch was going on.

Kumaraswamy's directive

Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has instructed that those responsible for damaging the road be arrested. He said some miscreants had damaged the road, which would give mileage to NICE. The police had been told to arrest those responsible for damaging the road, he said.

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