Four districts of Rayalaseema in Andhra Pradesh – Chittoor, Kadapa, Anantapura and Kurnool – have been under severe draught for the past few years. The situation in Chittoor and Kadapa is the worst. In Chittoor, 42 out of 66 mandals and in Kadapa, 48 out of 51 mandals are most affected.

THOUSANDS of peasants and agricultural workers converged in Bangalore on April 28, 2015 in an unprecedented solidarity action to convey a resounding “No” to the draconian Land Acquisition Ordinance brought by the Narendra Modi-led BJP government and assert their rights over land and water. A unique issue-based unity comprising of 12 organisations of peasants, agricultural workers, devadasi women, dalits, adivasis and small planters was built, described by some as a trend-setter for future politics in Karnataka.

THE Bhoomi Adhikar Sangharsh Rally on May 5, 2015 saw thousands of peasants, agricultural workers, adivasis and toiling masses marching to the parliament with the demand that the Land Acquisition Ordinance 2015 be fully scrapped and warned the BJP-led government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi that they will not allow the loot of land and deliberate destruction of peasant agriculture.

IN a fitting rebuff to the Narendra Modi led BJP government, lakhs of peasants, agricultural workers, adivasis and toiling people burnt copies of the draconian Land Acquisition Ordinance across the country on April 6.

THOUSANDS of agricultural workers marched from Bangalore City Railway Station to Freedom Park and staged a dharna on February 10 demanding proper implementation of MGNREGA, budgetary allocation for a welfare fund for agricultural workers, allocation of house sites to agricultural workers, and regularisation of unauthorised cultivation of government lands by the landless poor. The agricultural workers came in their thousands from the districts of Bidar, Gulbarga, Yadgir, Raichur, Bellary, Koppal, Gadag, Uttara Kannada, Udupi, South Kanara, Kodagu, Mandya, and Chikkaballapura.