Ludhiana farmer’s battle for relief still on

LUDHIANA: Even as a local court has released the Swarna Shatabdi that was attached in March after the Railways failed to give full compensation to a farmer whose land was acquired for the Ludhiana-Chandigarh line, the petitioner is still struggling to get the amount.

The train was released on Wednesday as the railways had deposited the pending amount of compensation of ₹73.9 lakh in the court on April 25. However, farmer Sampuran Singh said he is yet to receive the amount. “The court ordered the release Shatabdi on Wednesday but failed to release the award money to Sampuran Singh,” said advocate Rakesh Gandhi, counsel for the petitioner.

On Thursday, Sampuran again moved an application in the court, requesting his award money be released. “As the court vacations begin on June 1, the farmer is not going to get the money soon. I have been fighting for eight years, but the legal battle lingers on,” said Sampuran. It was on March 16 that the court had ordered attachment of the train after the railways failed to comply with the court’s order issued in 2015 to clear the farmer’s dues for his land acquired. HTC