Against Closure of Road for Poor in an Azamgarh Village

CPIML activists protested at the Collectorate on 13 July 2020 against the forcible closure of the thoroughfare at Maltari Bazaar in Jataon village, Thana Jeeyanpur, Sagadi Tahsil, Azamgarh District. A memorandum was submitted with the demand to immediately reopen the road.

It is to be noted that this road has been in use for over 50 years and is the sole thoroughfare for local residents and students and teachers of many schools. On 4 July 2020 the Manager of Gandhi Degree College and his sons (one of whom is the Gram Pradhan) collected armed goons, violated the SDM’s orders, displayed arms openly in the presence of the Nayab Tahsildar and the police, and forcibly constructed a wall to close the road. Moreover, they ploughed the road with a tractor on 10 July and sowed crops on it.

On getting the information, CPIML Uttar Pradesh State Committee member Om Prakash Singh visited Jataon village, saw the closed road and spoke to the villagers. After speaking to the villagers it was decided to organize a protest at the Azamgarh Collectorate on 13 July 2020. Speaking on the occasion Om Prakash Singh said that the blunt refusal by the Inspector in-charge of Jeeyanpur Kotwali to obey the SDM’s order and his siding with the dominant sections that forcibly and illegally closed the road is a clear example of the feudal-criminal-police-administration nexus. He said that a similar situation prevails across the State and Police Thanas are working at the behest of criminals. He pointed out the recent horrifying incident at Kanpur.

The memorandum made the following demands: reopen the closed road immediately; probe the nexus between the Jeeyanpur Kotwal and the dominant sections and punish him; file a case and arrest the dominant persons who openly displayed arms in the presence of the police.