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Journalism of Courage
The Indian Railway’s ambitious Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) project has hit a stumbling block in Gujarat with a Singur-like situation cropping up in Vadodara, Anand and Kheda districts. At least 1,333 farmers in Vadodara taluka itself opposed the move, threatening agitation along the lines of the Singur protest on Tuesday at a meeting between the farmers and railway officials. The discussion was initiated by the Japan Bank For International Cooperation (JBIC), which is funding part of the DFC, in cooperation with a Delhi-based private engineering firm, which is providing the Centre a 2500 crore loan for the 50 metre Vadodara-Rewari stretch of the DFC.
In the meeting held near Bil, one of the 16 villages in Vadodara taluka which the DFC would pass through, farmers represented by Baroda District Kheva Samaj chairman, Hasmukh Bhatt said that the Vadodara Urban Development Authority (VUDA) had already acquired some of their land.“Now, with railway officials asking us for more land, we would have nothing left with us,” said Bhatt. According to the Railways’ plan, farmers from Varnama, Kalali, Bin, Sayli, Etola, Varsad, Pokarpur, Sindhrot, Kotna, Madhepur, Sevasi, Samyali and Patod would be directly affected.
The director from JBIC, Suseke Mirato, said that the they were conducting a study to estimate the sociological impact on the farmers.
