Farmers Protest Destruction of Paddy Fields
ANGRY farmers under the banner of the All India Kisan Mahasabha organized a one-day dharna at the Bagodar Zonal Office on 25 September 2018 to protest against the stamping down of the flourishing paddy crops of 17 farmers in Tirla village by the hydraulic excavator machine (Poclain) of GAIL during their gas-pipe laying operations which were started without talking to or consulting the concerned farmers.
On 22 September the poclain machine was brought to the paddy fields and it was used to run down the flourishing paddy crop standing on 50 decimals of land without either information or compensation to the farmers, destroying hundreds of quintals of paddy. When the farmers protested angrily, the GAIL personnel ran away from the place, leaving the poclain machine behind and threatening to slap false cases on the farmers. For the past 6 months, protests and dharnas have been going on in Bagodar, Dumri and Barkattha Blocks for talks on the following 4 demands before starting the work of laying the gas pipe line: 100% compensation for land; only 5 meters land to be acquired instead of 30 meters; equal compensation rates across the Block; equal compensation for gairmajrua and raiyyot lands. But neither the government nor GAIL heeded these protests by the farmers.
Addressing the dharna, AIKM State convener Com. Puran Mahto said that GAIL is committing atrocities on the farmers, who will not tolerate it under any circumstances. For the past 6 months farmers have been protesting to demand dignified talks on the matter of their 4 demands before the laying of the pipe line starts; despite this, GAIL has crushed 200 quintals of paddy in 50 decimals of land without informing or compensating the affected farmers. Com. Mustaq Ansari said that GAIL deliberately wants to entrap the farmers, but this will not be allowed to happen. He demanded legal action against the Director and contractors of GAIL and compensation to the 17 farmers whose paddy has been destroyed; otherwise, the agitation would continue and would be escalated.
A memorandum, signed by the 17 affected farmers was submitted to the District Deputy Commissioner and the Zonal Officer at the end of the dharna requesting that the GAIL pipe line work should not proceed until the demands of the affected farmers are not met (farmers from Tirla, Gopaldih, Pokhriya, Taranari, Pochri, Aura, Kharkharo, Hesla, Ghaghra, Bagodardih, Jarmune and Atka villages). The dharna was finally ended after getting written assurance on the 4 demands: 100% compensation for land; only 5 meters land to be acquired instead of 30 meters; equal compensation rates across the Block; equal compensation for gairmajrua and raiyyot lands.
