Bengaluru, Oct 25: Forest officials on Friday took possession of five acres of land under the custody of the Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT).

A statement from the Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre said a huge park would be developed on the land.

The officials of the Forest Department went with an earthmover and recovered five acres of vacant land and "asserted their claim by planting a board of the Karnataka Forest Department there", the statement said.

It said that the HMT had sold more than 165 acres of forest land under its possession for a mere Rs 300 crore to various private and government agencies.

The land has suddenly got prominence ever since Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries H D Kumaraswamy said he would revive the HMT and bring back its glory.

Khandre has claimed that a total of 599 acres of land belongs to the forest department and he would get it back.

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New Delhi, Oct 25: Hard-working poor people have been robbed of their dreams due to falling incomes and rising inflation, and new schemes that will allow them to take home savings are needed, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said on Friday as he interacted with a barber at a shop here.

Gandhi shared a video on X of his visit to the barber shop in Uttam Nagar's Prajapat Colony. He was seen in the clip enquiring about the barber's problems while getting his beard trimmed.

"'There is nothing left!' These four words of Ajit Bhai and his tears tell the story of every hard-working poor and middle-class person of India today. From barbers to cobblers, potters to carpenters -- falling incomes and rising inflation have robbed the working class of their dreams of having their own shops, houses and even self-respect," the former Congress president said in his post.

What is needed now are modern solutions and new schemes that will increase incomes and bring back savings, Gandhi said.

There is a need for a society where talent gets its due and every step of hard work takes you up the ladder of success, the former Congress chief said.

The Congress also posted a video of the interaction on its X handle.

"Today Jananayak Rahul Gandhi ji got a shave at Ajit ji's shop in Delhi and understood the struggles of his life," the party said on X.

Since his Kanyakumari to Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra and his Manipur to Mumbai Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Gandhi has been interacting with a cross-section of people from mechanics and cobblers to labourers and bus drivers.

He often posts videos of his numerous interactions and highlights the plight of various sections of society.