How will the farmers react?

How will the farmers react?

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bangalore: Could there be a Singur-like problem between the Karnataka government and Dharwad farmers on the purchase of 1,000 acres for the Tatas? A senior government official said preliminary reports on land acquisition in the area have shown that farmers will not object to selling their land.
   “The feedback is that people in Dharwad are willing to sell their land in the hope of getting better jobs from a project like a car manufacturing facility,” the official said.
   “But it will be an uphill task for the government to give land around Bangalore as the IT city is already very populated,” he said. “North Karnataka has been starved of investment for a long time and any investment will be welcomed by the people,” he explained.
   S Viswanathan, chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry, Karnataka, welcomed the move to give land in Dharwad and said the organization has always told the government to make investments equally in all districts.
   He too felt Dharwad will not face the kind of problem Singur in West Bengal has faced. “It is true that land acquisition is difficult, but it is not an impossible task,” he said.
   Dharwad is also seen as a good fit for Tata Motors. The company is familiar with the area and the people as it has a commercial vehicle manufacturing facility there. It is also in the process of setting up a bus manufacturing unit soon.
   Dharwad is also close to Pune — a city known as the base of Tata Motors.