November 16, 2010
‘Ad’ in leading dailies challenged
Four Rajarhat farmers have complained to Mamata Banerjee that their land had been forcibly acquired for the township project. The complaints came a day after an ad published by the state government citing the names of those who had ‘voluntarily’ given up their lands for the township. Rajarhat Trinamool leader, who heads the Krishi Jomi Raksha Committee there, called on Ms. Banerjee this afternoon at her Kalighat home and handed the letters the farmers have written to her. He later distributed copies of the letters among journalists. In the letters, Mokshad Ali, Mohammed Punjab Ali, Anwar Ali and Oli Ahmed have alleged that they had not given land to Hidco voluntarily. “I had to part with my land following threats from some goons,†one of the letters read. The four farmers, all residents of Rajarhat’s Jangra-Hatiara, claimed they had been paid paltry sums ranging between Rs 6,000 and Rs 8,000 per cottah. “We want to get back the land or be paid the prevailing market price for our land,†another letter reads. The farmers complained that Hidco had included their names in a list of voluntary land-givers mentioned in an ad published in many leading dailies yesterday.
