MYSORE: The drama surrounding the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project continued to unfold in the city for the second-day running as a few activists gheraoed the managing director of Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise, (NICE) Ashok Khenny, and raised slogans against the project, here on Friday.

The activists comprised a few farmers and members of the Anti-BMIC Forum, Mandya, who mobbed Mr.Khenny soon after he emerged from a meeting with Deputy Commissioner S.Selvakumar from whom he unsuccessfully tried to secure permission to go ahead with the ground-breaking ceremony of the project from this end.

Mr.Selvakumar is also the Chairman of the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) which is vested with the responsibility of acquiring land and handing it over to the KIADB for the project to commence. Mr.Khenny requested a letter from Mr.Selvakumar stating the reasons for the delay but the latter refused and directed him to approach the KIADB.

Having failed to persuade the authorities to allow the work to commence, Mr.Khenny left the venue. When asked what is next move would be, Mr.Khenny said "I cannot break the law or take law into my own hands and the work cannot commence today".

The activists demanded that the entire project be scrapped and the land acquired from the farmers be handed over to them. Giving a call to the public to join hands in opposing the project, the forum members said both the ruling coalition as also the Congress were making noise in the Assembly but their concern was restricted to the "excess land" acquired by NICE.

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