BULLET TRAIN: SURVEY OF 61HA THANE LAND FROM THURSDAY

THANE: The Thane district collec- torate will begin surveying over 61 hectares of land in Bhiwandi, Thane for the Mumbai-ahmedabad bullet train on Thursday.

This was made possible after farmers in the area, who had opposed the project, finally agreed to give up their land.

The district farmers held several meetings over the last few months to reach an agreement on the issue. The consent of the farmers will help speed up the process, said district collector Rajesh Narvekar.

Aniruddha Ashtaputre, district information officer, said, “There are around 131 landowners from Bhiwandi whose consent was required for the bullet train project. Their consent will pave the way for the survey of 61 hectares of land in Bhiwandi. The protests were led mainly by farmers in Anjur, Bharodi and Highway Dive. They have now agreed to most of the clauses put forth by the government. The farmers have also put forth some clauses of their own, which the government has approved.” “One of the demands they have made is representation in the committee that will decide the compensation. They have also asked that the service road parallel to the bullet train be extended from Bharodi to Dombivli,” Ashtaputre said.

“The car shed for the bullet train is proposed at Surai, Bharodi and Anjur. The farmers have demanded that they be given jobs in these car sheds and be trained in the skills required for the job,” he added.

The proposed bullet train will pass through nine villages in Thane district and affect 250 farmers.