Villagers protest against urban projects in Madhya Pradesh

Kathaunda (MP)/Agra, May 7 : Civic authorities faced stiff resistance in Kathaunda village in Madhya Pradesh while trying to acquire 35-hectares of land for a sewage treatment plant.

The villagers turned violent against the authorities when they started to tear down houses in the area.

The villagers alleged they were not given proper notice by the authorities for vacation of the land.

"We were promised adequate compensation by the authorities for our lands and agreed to give up our lands. Today, the civic authorities arrived to evict us, but did not give us ample time to take our belongings. When we opposed them, the police threatened to arrest us," said Kanchhedi, a villager.

"We had given them ten ultimatums informing them that this land was now the property of the civic authority and they had to vacate it.," said Vidisha Mukherjee, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM).

Meanwhile in Agra, farmers tonsured their heads to protest against the forced acquisition of their lands for the construction of the 160- kilometer Taj Express Highway, which on completion, will reduce travel time between Delhi and Agra by an hour.

The farmers claimed that they had not received adequate compensation for lands taken from them in 15 villages.

They declared their intention to head for New Delhi and ask the Central Government to take cognizance of their problem.

"We are totally disappointed with the State Government and are planning to go to Delhi to appeal to the Central Government," said Ramji Upadhyay, a farmer.

ANI