Farmers protest to get back their land

LUCKNOW: Just when the Centre gears up to clear the way for the long-pending land acquisition bill, a group of farmers from five villages near Agra have started a protest march to Lucknow seeking return of their land acquired by the state government for a township to be developed by the Jaypee Group. The agitation comes close on the heels of resentment brewing amongst farmers in Bhatta Parsaul which saw a raging protest by farmers who have not only been demanding return of their land but also release of their leaders who were put behind the bars by the then BSP government.
The epicenter of this fresh agitation is a land spreading over an area of around 510 hectares (over 1,000 acres) comprising five villages around Agra -- Chalesar, Garhi Rani, Chaugan, Bagaura, Nagla-Nathu and Nagla Tankhi -- which were acquired by Mayawati government through a notification issued on March 2009. Even as the state government handed over the possession to the developer, Mulayam joined the protesting farmers who ploughed their field in agitation. ``Even Akhilesh Yadav came here during his rallies while riding a bicycle,'' claimed Manoj Kumar Sharma, a villager from Chalesar, whose 22 bigha of land was acquired for the township.
The farmers claim that SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav had promised them in April 2010 that he would get the land return to the farmers if his party came to power. "They had claimed to be a party of farmers and poor. However, nothing as such happened even after one year of rule in UP,'' Sharma rued.
In fact, when Akhilesh came to inaugurate the Yamuna Expressway, the protest was still going on. "He (Akhilesh) had then also promised of getting the land returned to farmers. They (SP leaders) were with the farmers before the elections. Now, post-elections they appear to be with builders,” he said.
The agitation is now being fanned by the opposition parties including Congress alliance partner, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD). On Friday, RLD state president, Munna Singh Chauhan joined the agitating farmers who have walked down all the way from Ehtemadpur, an assembly constitutency in Agra, to Kanpur. These farmers are likely to reach the state capital on next week. Ironically, they won't be able to meet the chief minister, who, by then would have flown to United States where he has been invited as a guest at Harvard university to speak about the success of `Kumbh Mela'.
"The state government has been continuously compromising on its promises it made to the farmers ever since it came to power,'' said Chauhan, speaking to TOI on phone from Kanpur. He said that the RLD will stage a protest march in Lucknow if the state government did not return the land to the farmers as it promised.
The SP had also announced an increased compensation for the farmers who were affected by the land acquisition drive. Subsequently, Akhilesh Yadav, in November, 2012, also announced release of farmer leaders, including Manvir Singh Teotia, Premvir, Kale Singh, Gaje Singh, Kiranpal, Dhan Singh, Neeraj and Manoj, who the state government said, had been falsely framed given the fact that they were only agitating because of inadequate compensation for their acquired land.
Before that, in September, the state government withdrew criminal cases lodged against 37 farmers, who agitated against the forceful acquisition of their land in Tappal block of Aligarh district.
The cases were lodged following a violent clash with police where five persons, including an official of the Provincial Arms Constabulary died on August 14, 2010.