Committee slams lathi-charge on farmers at Buxar in Bihar

Amritsar, March 24

The Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) has flayed lathi-charge on farmers in Bihar’s Buxar district on March 20 in which several farmers were injured.

KMSC general secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher said landowners were demanding compensation as per the new land rates, but the government was bent on acquiring their land for a power plant at lower price.

Though farmers are owners of the land, their consent is not taken at the time of land acquisition for various projects. The compensation paid is less than the market value. If farmers resist, force is used against them. Sarwan Pandher, General Secretary, KMSC

He said if farmers of the country failed to take notice of the situation, the BJP government would use same means to acquire land all over the country and even in Punjab. Activists of the KMSC are also protesting on Haryana borders to get a legal guarantee for the minimum support price for crops. The farmers protest has completed 40 days.

Pandher said, “Though farmers are owners of the land, their consent is not taken at the time of land acquisition for various projects. The compensation paid is less than the market value. If farmers resist, force is used against them.”