The Price of Progress: How Vizag’s AI Boom Is Displacing Dalit Farmers
By Hitasree Maddukuri on July 11, 2026
“My avva, she’s a drumbeat on the broken drum.
teaching the earth to bloom and to give fruit,
becoming leather for cheppulu(footwear).
Hers is like the agony of a top to
escape the string of the landlords.
Though she fed mother-earth with her breast,
the lords kept her at a distance from the yield.
My avva, she’s a course-slab at the doorway that
heaped sorrow as a stack of history
tightening the pallu round her waist,
my avva is a question,
flashing a sickle in her hand.
May the languages be doomed! They never accessed
the brinks where my avva wandered.”
The above lines are written by the celebrated Dalit rights activist Joopka Subhadra to signify the Telugu Dalit community’s continued oppression through generations. This has been the case, and it continues even when the government changes, as the same broken system continues to fail them.
The foundation of the AI data centres across the city of Vizag has been met with mass celebration under the guise of development and increased employment opportunities. So naturally, who is impacted the most and rewarded the least in this transaction?
The marginalised.
We fail to realise that these empty promises are built on the tombstone of shattered dreams and forced sacrifices of the downtrodden and the voiceless. In this case, the burden is shared by the Dalit and Adi Vasi communities of the Tarluvada region.
At the foot of “CHUKKA KONDA”, known locally as Star Hill, nearly 300 acres of land in Tarluvada village lie quiet, the same kind of quiet that is forced by systemic oppression. The same land, which was thriving with local businesses and farming practices, now holds its breath as it has been designated for clearing to accommodate the massive, power-hungry data centres.
According to the Frontline, “Some 50 landless Dalit families were assigned D-Patta plots (land allotted for the poor) in the 1970s, totalling about 100 acres, with each eligible family receiving roughly 2 acres. However, the Dalit allottees say the allotments were fragmented, with families receiving an acre in one location, half an acre in another; the uneven terrain below the hill compounded the problem. Over the years, as the allottee families levelled and worked the land, they brought an additional 100 acres under cultivation. This is how they came to use nearly 200 acres of the 300-acre stretch.”
Now these 200 acres of land have been allocated to Raiden Infotech India Pt. Ltd, a subsidiary of Google, for a data centre project. The aim is to set up data centres consuming 1,000 MW of power, in Visakhapatnam and Anakapalli districts in partnership with AdaniConneX and Airtel.
Even though due compensation has been discussed, the farmers claim the indemnity amount cited is significantly below the market value. With discrepancies in the paperwork of the land owned, they are forced to settle for an even meagre amount. Burdened by debt and the rising pressure from the surrounding parties, the farmers reluctantly agreed to such terms. Even if they wish to protest, they fail to find representation in the mainstream media or pay the hefty legal fees for the endless court proceedings.
The same land which has given them a source of livelihood, uplifted them from their dire state and has given them the privilege of dignity is being callously snatched away, while their voice is yet again stifled.
This issue is not merely social; the reality of a city encumbered by data centres entails myriad environmental disasters. From countries such as Sweden, the Netherlands and Malaysia, which outrightly rejected the mere proposal of data centres being instated, to a resource-scarce country like India, which is jumping on deals that shall do irreparable damage to every element of nature.
On a personal note, Vizag, I have called you home since I can remember. I cherish your welcoming coastline, bustling crowd and your simplistic mindset. While it’s not perfect, it still has a soul, which they are set to steal and crush under the dense weight of power-hungry data centres. We should not and cannot stay silent as “Mana Vizag” is left to the fate of industrialists who shall bleed her dry.
The complex intersection of caste, capitalism and power politics may be beyond my scope of complete understanding. However, the pain and helplessness felt by my fellow people is definitely not. All it requires is basic human empathy to understand the plight of these people who are still burdened by the shackles of systemic oppression. Every tear shed by them is a testament to the fact that we have failed, and no number of promises about development can ever compensate for the devastation it leaves behind. It may feel hopeless to discuss a deal which has already been cemented; however, if we wake up and decide to take collective action, alas, all hope may not be lost.
