Farmers gherao Mehatpur BDPO, submit demand letter

Tribune News Service

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Jalandhar, October 8

Landless farmers of various villages of the Mehatpur block today gheraoed the BDPO officer, Mehatpur, to demand residential plots for landless farmers and labourers. The Pendu Mazdoor Union activists said despite the fact that the CM Punjab had directed the panchayats to call gram sabhas and pass resolutions to handover plots to labourers by October 7, the same had not been done.

They said politically-connected gram panchayats also didn’t pay any heed to the CM’s directions. They said the panchayats under the BDPO block defied the government orders. The activists demanded that the next date of calling gram sabhas should be immediately announced and resolutions should be passed at public places.

They also said to ensure transparency on the occasion; videography should also be done at the gram sabhas to ensure roofs and residential plots to the needy. They also demanded that the underprivileged who had been seeking jobs under MNREGA be provided with jobs or unemployment allowance. They further demanded that the panchayat record of Udhowal village should be made public.

BDPO Zeenat Khehra accepted the demand letter from the protestors and assured that they can approach her in office till October 13 to get 5 marla plots. She said transparency will be ensured at all costs in gram panchayats so that requisite benefits are received by the needy. A resolution was also passed by labourers on the occasion, who demanded the arrests of upper caste persons of village Masani in block Batala of Gurdaspur district for allegedly meting out atrocities to the Dalits in the village. They also demanded the culprits in the Lakhimpur Kheri farmers’ killings. Labourers and landless peasants were addressed by Anita Sandhu, Daniel Sanghowal, Bakhsho Saidpur, Paramjit, Surinder Kaur, Bakhsho Madiala, Lav Kumar, Sunil Kumar, Rajinder Mand, Taranjit Mann, Ratan Singh Lambardar, among others.