Farmers’ dharna over uniform compensation demand enters Day 2
MEERUT : The indefinite dharna, which hundreds of farmers from 24 villages of Ghaziabad and Meerut districts started on Friday to press for their demand of equal compensation in lieu of their land acquired for the Delhi-Meerut Expressway (DME) project, continued on the second day Saturday.
The farmers allege that they have been given compensation on varying rates. Refuting the allegations, Mudit Garg, project manager of expressway in Ghaziabad region, said, “It (compensation) was given as per the rule.”
He said the farmers were doing so because they thought that the authorities would approve additional compensation for them under pressure in the last phase of work. The land of the agitating farmers has been acquired for 32-km long 4th phase of expressway between Meerut and Dasna (in Ghaziabad).
While the farmers of 19 villages of Ghaziabad are staging the dharna on the expressway in Moradabad village of that district, farmers from 5 villages of Meerut are sitting on the dharna in Achraunda village of Meerut where construction of a toll plaza is proposed under the project. The dharna forced the construction company to stop work on the expressway.
In the evening, sub-divisional magistrate, tehsildar and circle officer of Modinagar (Ghaziabad) held a meeting with the protesting farmers at dharna site in Moradabad village. They also arranged a telephonic conversation between a delegation of farmers and additional district magistrate (land acquisition) of Ghaziabad who assured the farmers to resolve the issue and appealed to them to allow construction work to continue on the expressway, said Dr Babli Gurjar, convener, Kisan Sangharsh Samiti.
After the talks, the farmers allowed the authorities to restart the construction work but decided to continue their dharna.
They, however, warned to stop construction work again if their demands were not met in the next 8 days, said Dr Gurjar added. Prior to dharna, the farmers took out a march from a village located on MeerutGhaziabad border for three days which ended at the office of district magistrate, Ghaziabad, on Thursday. The talks that followed between the farmers and officials eventually failed.
“The talks concluded without any outcome and the officials sought 10 days’ time to resolve the issue. We have given them the time but won’t allow work on the expressway until they (officials) come out with an amicable solution,” said Dr Babli Gurjar.