Ryots vow to spoil NICE party

Ryots vow to spoil NICE party
Deccan Herald

June 16, the scheduled date for the inauguration of the first nine kilometres of the Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC), might well see a direct confrontation between the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) and the farmers of Hemmigepura.

June 16, the scheduled date for the inauguration of the first nine kilometres of the Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC), might well see a direct confrontation between the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) and the farmers of Hemmigepura.

The farmers, who allegedly cut 400 metres of the newly laid BMIC road on Saturday night, threatened not let anyone use the road on June 16.

A Panchalingaiah, a panchayat member, said the farmers would erect three shamianas along the road on the inauguration day. “Even if we are sent to jail, we will not let the vehicles cross this road,” he said on Sunday.

NICE MD Ashok Kheny said he would ask the Home Ministry, a portfolio held by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, to provide security on the road after June 16. He said he would also appeal to the Governor and the Director General of Police for help. He however, added that if the security measures were unsatisfactory, his company would go to the High Court or the Supreme Court for help.

“The duty of the police is to protect. If they fail in maintaining law and order, we will be left with no other option but to go to the court,” Mr Kheny said.

Incidentally, the farmers said they did not damage the road on Saturday, and NICE officials themselves did it to frame them. On the other hand, NICE officials said the villagers roughed up the drivers of the construction vehicles and forced them to break the road.

When this Deccan Herald correspondent visited the spot on Wednesday afternoon, over 200 people, mostly women and children, had gathered under a shamiana erected on the middle of the road. The tension was palpable, especially among the NICE officials, who refused to go near the scene of protest.

One senior official said, “The panchayat members of this village have created problems earlier too. Once, they manhandled me and broke my spectacles.”

Meanwhile, the farmers remained adamant that their demands should be met before they allow the inaugural function to take place. They said if NICE fenced the area with six-foot walls, they would find it difficult to reach the other side of the road. “The village school, health centre, temple and mosque are on the other side of the corridor. We will have to walk two kilometres to reach the overbridge,” said Parasharam, a local leader. However, NICE officials said there were underpasses and overbridges built every 500 metres. They said a special walkway was also constructed for villagers.

The farmers’ other demands include upgrading of service roads and development of villages. “NICE had promised to develop 147 villages. They have done nothing about it. Instead they are grabbing excess land for the project,” accused Parasharam.

Payment of compensation to villagers and drying up of borewells were other contentious issues.

The NICE said the government was responsible for the payment of compensation as the company had already given the money to the government. As for the borewell issue, NICE officials said they would sink borewells by June 15.