Farmers seek relief for land acquisition

Abohar, December 8

Hundreds of farmers, who had settled in the Seed Farm locality on the periphery of Abohar, today staged a dharna outside the SDM office here, demanding compensation for the land being used for the bypass of the national highway that connects Fazilka and Malout with Abohar.

At the sit-in organised under the banner of the Jamhuri Kisan Sabha, district secretary Kulwant Kirti claimed that the Central Government has released compensation to acquire the land at Rs 78 lakh per acre, and the same should also be disbursed among the settlers who had been cultivating these for about 80 years.

One-third of the land was owned by the state government and two-thirds by the settlers, hence the settlers should be given compensation as per their landholding, he added. Kulwant said most of the farmers in the Seed Farm area have only 2-3 acres of land through which they have been supporting their families.

Kulhind Kisan Sabha secretary Wazir Chand, along with Kulwant Kirti and others, submitted a memorandum at the SDM office and requested to take up the issue with the higher authorities.