Bagalkot
Villagers displaced by the Narayanapura dam project are demanding additional land due to ongoing flooding from backwaters affecting their homes. Many families have been living in temporary shelters for 16 years and are requesting four guntas of land per family, rather than the one gunta currently allotted, to support their larger families and livestock.
A total of 666 affected individuals from ten villages—including Kengal Padapatti, Iddalagi, and Adiyal—have approached Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who also serves as the Water Resource Minister. They highlight that they lost agricultural land to the project 40 years ago and their homes 16 years ago. The government previously allocated 4 guntas to residents in other Rehabilitation Centres, further fueling their demands.
The villagers submitted a fresh plea on September 12, which has since been forwarded through various government departments, but they fear that their request may be dismissed by lower-ranking officials citing existing norms. They obtained information under the RTI Act indicating that sufficient land is available for their request; for example, Iddalagi RC has 1,215 displaced persons and 5,085 one-gunta sites available, leaving plenty for their proposed allocation.
