Private Cities

Locking horns with the police, farmers in southern India resisting a land acquisition to expand Bangalore city foiled the Karnataka state government’s attempt to survey the land last week. Whacking the survey officers with brooms, women farmers chased them back into their cars, which retreated – some mud-caked, some with shattered windscreens. Police have filed serious charges, including attempted murder. The altercation occurred on July 13, the 490th day of protest against the state government’s notification to acquire over 9,600 acres of fertile, multi-cropped land sustaining 20,000 people from 4,000 families across 26 villages.