Overview

• Farmers have maintained a hunger strike at Bengaluru’s Freedom Park since July 2, demanding the state government rescind its April notification to acquire 1,777 acres in Devanahalli taluk for a defence and aerospace park.
• Leaders of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, including Rakesh Tikait, visited on July 3 to show national solidarity and bolster the around-the-clock protest ahead of talks with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah scheduled for July 4.
• An open letter from 30 scholars and public-policy experts on July 1 accused the KIADB of bypassing legal consent thresholds under the 2013 land acquisition act and flagged serious procedural irregularities highlighted in a 2017 CAG audit.
• Protesting landowners warn that diverting fertile farmland will severely disrupt Bengaluru’s vegetable and milk supply and underscore broader tensions between high-tech development and agricultural sustainability.
• The state cabinet has discussed the farmers’ demands but issued no definitive response, and unions have threatened to escalate their protest if the government does not suspend the acquisition plan.