Adas: At age 88, Dayabhai Maganbhai has suffered two strokes in the last one year. When we meet him at his home in Adas village of Anand district, 100 km from Ahmedabad, he is resting on a charpoy. "I will take a bullet but will not give my land. I don't care if every other family gives their consent for this project, I will not budge," he tells us. Sanjay Parekh, the youngest of his four sons, says, "My father has seen India's struggle for Independence and, 73 years later, he still does not feel free. Why is he being forced to sell his hard-earned land which is the only source of income for the family?"

The bullet train will pierce through Adas village, destroying 10 homes and some farmland. Dayabhai is set to lose the maximum chunk. His duplex home, built only 11 years ago, will be completely demolished for the new rail line. "We grow bananas for a living. Annually, we make about R3 lakh through farming. But now, 3.5 guntha out of the total 44 gunthas is going into the project. This will impact us severely," the eldest son Jitendra says.