Varanasi farmers end land protest

Farmers of four villages in Varanasi district ended their 59-day dharna today after the district administration assured them that the notification pertaining to acquisition of their land would be cancelled.

Farmers of four villages in Varanasi district ended their 59-day dharna today after the district administration assured them that the notification pertaining to acquisition of their land would be cancelled. The farmers were told that their land would not be acquired without their consent.

The assurance from Ravindra,District Magistrate of Varanasi,came about 48 hours before June 14 – the day the farmers were to carry out a suicide threat. The farmers agreed to call off their dharna after an eight-hour meeting with district administration officials in Sathvan village today.

About 450 affected families of Sathvan,Rajnahiya,Sai and Hridyapur villages were staging the dharna from May 14,protesting acquisition of their land for two sewage treatment plants. They said their land was fertile and loss of the land meant loss of livelihood.

Farmers have been assured that the district administration will recommend the government for cancellation of initial notification,identifying 100 acres for acquisition. We also assured them that their land would be taken only after mutual consent, said Ravindra. The district administration will soon send the recommendation to the government to cancel the notification, said the DM.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram