Land acquisition for Amritsar-Katra expressway attracts farmers’ wrath

A number of villages in the Goindwal Sahib area turned into a cantonment area because of heavy police presence, creating tension on Tuesday when officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) came to take possession of the land for Bharat Mala Project, popularly known as the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra highway.

The NHAI has been repeatedly making efforts to take possession of the land for which the farmers have taken compensation. The administration was facing the ire of farmers in certain villages like Jhander Mahanpurkha, Khaswaspur, Dhunda, Suba Waning Singh, Dinewal and others.

Early in the morning at about 4 am, police force from Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Kapurthala and Jalandhar along with executive officers came to the spot with JCB machines and other heavy machinery.

The administration started its work with JCB machines and the crop sown in the fields was damaged. As soon as the farmers of the area came to know of the development, the farmers under the banner of Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee led by district president Satnam Singh Manochahal, general secretary Harjinder Singh Shakri and others appeared on the spot and lodged their protest against the administration.

The protesting farmers said that there were a number of farmers who had not been given even a penny of the compensation for the land to be acquired. KMSC district president Satnam Singh Manochahal said that the police detained 27 protesting farmers that included three women who were lodged at the local Sadar and Chohla Sahib police stations. The leaders of the agitating farmers claimed that the administration was forced to go back without taking possession of the farmers’ land.

Deputy Commissioner Rahul said that out of the 30 kilometre length, 21.6 km had been acquired and the rest too would be acquired soon. The Deputy Commissioner said that the owners of the land were not protesting and only leaders of a particular organisation were opposing the land acquisition. The detained farmers were released in the evening, claimed the leaders of the agitating farmers’ organisation.