Villagers protest road demarcation amid dispute over granular plant in Atti village

A long-standing dispute over a granular material plant in Atti village, located in Phillaur constituency, flared up once again on Sunday when a large police force and senior administrative officers arrived to conduct road demarcation near the plant site.

The demarcation was met with strong protests from local villagers, who claim that the plant was set up on agricultural land without their consent.

Led by farm leader Jasveer Singh Kamalpura and panchayat member Gurpreet Singh Gopi, the villagers raised concerns over the damage caused to the village’s agricultural road by heavy vehicles accessing the plant. The road, they argued, was never intended for commercial or industrial use. Additionally, the presence of a nearby school has raised safety concerns among the villagers, particularly for children.

The villagers also alleged that the plant’s owners had previously promised during a meeting that the unit would not be established in the village. However, they claimed that the owners later obtained court permissions to operate the plant. Officials arrived on-site to demarcate the road, citing directions from the High Court. However, the villagers disputed that any such explicit order had been issued.

Tehsildar Mandeep Singh, who was present during the demarcation process, clarified that the road marking was being carried out in accordance with the High Court’s directions and a complaint filed by the Block Development and Panchayat Officer (BDPO) of Phillaur. The road in question is approximately 19 feet wide and the demarcation was an official procedure.

While the villagers stated they were not opposed to road demarcation itself, they insisted that it should be conducted transparently and fairly, rather than as a mere formality. The community reiterated its firm opposition to the operation of the granular plant within their village.