The Hindu : Karnataka News : They face the threat of eviction

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Monday, Oct 01, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka

They face the threat of eviction

The move to acquire land has angered Mandakalli villagers

After losing their agricultural land for the construction of Mysore airport, the residents of Mandakalli village now face the threat of eviction from their hearth and home.

Many residents of Mandakalli village, about 11 km from here, now live in hovels that cling to the eight ft-high compound wall erected by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) along the periphery of the Mysore airport site.

But, with the revision of the international civil aviation guidelines for the runway strip and the proposal to construct a full-fledged airport in Mysore with facilities for operation of bigger A 320-sized aircraft, the AAI has urged the State Government to acquire additional land to expand the width of the runway.

Already, a team of KIADB officials have carried out a survey and identified a good portion of Mandakalli village, which has around 4,000 inhabitants, for acquisition.

Though the authorities claim that no more than 100 to 120 houses will be acquired, uncertainty over retaining their homes, with which many elderly residents have sentimental attachment, haunts almost the entire village.

“Where will we go if we are uprooted from our homes. We have already lost our land and are eking out a living by working as construction labourers. If we have to shift to the alternative land provided by the Government, we will not be able to build our own homes what with a bag of cement costing more than Rs. 300,” rued Kote Gowda.

Many residents, particularly the youth, have already begun mobilising themselves against the proposed acquisition of their village for the airport project. “We will consume poison and end our lives if we are forced to vacate from our houses,” threatened K. Hebbale Gowda, who is also the vice-president of Mysore Taluk Panchayat.

If the elderly citizens appeared gloomy over the Government’s move to acquire their village, the mood among the youngsters in the village was combative. “We will not let go our homes. We will hold protests and gherao officials of KIADB if they step into the village,” said Ravi Chandra.

Already, the residents of the village have made many sacrifices. “We have already lost land for Varuna irrigation project, Ashraya housing scheme and for the airport. There is a limit to everything,” he said.

Laiqh A. Khan in Mysore

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