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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Singur echo in land protest

Singur echo in land protest

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published Published on Dec 17, 2009   modified Modified on Dec 17, 2009

Farmers of Chandauli district in Uttar Pradesh, who have been served a notice for acquisition of land for a freight corridor for Mamata Banerjee’s railway ministry, have decided to rope in all those who had backed the Singur agitation for a movement against the project.

As a first, the farmers have written to Medha Patkar, the spearhead of the Narmada Bachao Andolan, who is one of the key social activists who had joined Mamata’s agitation in Singur against the Nano project of the Tatas.

“You had joined Mamata’s movement and saved the fortunes of farmers in Singur. Please join us now,” says the letter to the social activist penned jointly by the Krishi Bhumi Bachao Sangharsh Samiti and Satya Foundation. The two outfits are leading the farmers’ movement in Chandauli, about 30km from Varanasi, against the railway project. The outfits are launching an agitation against the corridors from Saturday.

“We want all those who backed the Singur agitation to join us,” said Kameswar Mishra, a lawyer who is among the leaders of the movement.

An aide of Patkar at the Narmada Bachao Andolan office in Baroda said their leader would decide for herself which movement to support. “But we provide moral support to all who fight for protection of farmers’ interest,” the aide said.

Of the two freight corridors planned, one is to run from Punjab’s Ludhiana to Dankuni near Calcutta while the other will connect Delhi with Mumbai. Mamata had earlier said 21,500 acres would be required for the corridors.

The first phase will require some 630 acres of land in Chandauli district covering 30 villages located near GT Road. The railways own land along the existing tracks, but these have been encroached upon and houses have been built, said sources.

When the railway minister had announced last month that no agricultural land would be forcibly taken for any of the projects, the farmers of Chandauli had felt reassured.

“But about 10 days ago, the local administration started serving notices to the farmers of 12 villages. This turned out to be a rude shock for the farmers,” said Ashish Goel, a farmer of Dhoos village.

A senior officer at the legal cell of the East Central Railway admitted that farmers’ land was under survey and some of them had been asked to fill out a form of consent for acquisition.

The authorities are so far silent on the compensation to be paid.

The railways have so far served notices to a dozen farmers for land acquisition.

The farmers are now asking Mamata why she was speaking in two voices.

“Were the farmers in Singur not given lucrative compensation packages? Why are there two yardsticks for farmers in West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh?” said Aloke Narayan Mishra, a farmer in Basni, one of the 30 villages in Chandauli district.


The Telegraph, 17 December, 2009, http://telegraphindia.com/1091217/jsp/nation/story_11876140.jsp
 

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