-The Deccan Herald The State Congress is all set to toe the line taken by its national leader Rahul Gandhi against ''forc­e­­ful farm land acquisition'' by extending its support to the agitation against the propo­s­ed Posco steel plant at Halligudi village in Gadag district. AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi recently held a march in Uttar Pradesh lending his support to the farmers protesting against land acquisition there.  The Karnataka Pra­­­desh Congress Committee...

Plans for a nuclear plant generate protests Fear factor...     * Protests have rocked Srikakulam district, where NPCIL plans a 9,000 MW nuclear plant     * The plant will displace people from 12 nearby villages     * The project is estimated to cost Rs 1.2 lakh-crore     * NPCIL promises a “liberal” resettlement package. Activists counter the proposed plant is a Fukushima-like environment risk. *** Earlier this year, sustained protests brought nationwide attention to the 2,640...

  The first attempt by the state government to convince the agitating farmers to withdraw their movement against the proposed Posco steel plant at Halligudi met with failure, after talks between District In-charge Minister C C Patil and Siddhalinga swamiji of Tontadarya mutt fell through. The seer told Patil that there was no question of withdrawing the agitation, despite a fervent appeal from the latter, who assured that the state government would...

-The Business Standard   The farmers in Halligudi of Mundargi taluk in Gadag district are firm on their stand to not part with their land to make way for the Posco steel plant. They have taken serious exception to industries minister Murugesh Nirani’s claim that farmers had volunteered to hand over land to KIADB in lieu of the compensation amount and employment, President of Mundaragi Taluk Abhivruddhi Horata Vedike Y R Goudar said no...

Land is contentious. With urbanisation and demand for non-agricultural use, coupled with lack of employment and skills for those in small-holder and subsistence-level agriculture, this is understandable. In western Europe, especially in Britain, and more especially in England, land markets were freed up before the Industrial Revolution and access to education and skills became more broad-based. We haven't introduced reforms that enable people to move out of agriculture, or diversify...