Hundreds of farmers protest in Indore against land acquisition, claim compensation low

Indore, Feb 21 (PTI) Hundreds of farmers gathered in Indore on Wednesday with their tractors to protest against the acquisition of agricultural land for development projects.

The protesters, who had assembled at the Laxmibai Nagar agricultural produce market in the city on a call by the RSS-backed Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), claimed that they were being given low compensation compared to the market price for acquiring fertile agricultural land.

The farmers protested against the land acquisition for Indore’s Western Ring Road, Indore-Budhni rail line and other projects.

BKS district conservator Surendra Patel told reporters, “Fertile agricultural land in Indore and Ujjain divisions of western Madhya Pradesh is being acquired in the name of development projects. We do not want to give even an inch of our land to the government for these projects.”

When the farmers tried to move towards the district collector’s office with their tractors, the police placed barricades on roads to stop them. Later, the protesters squatted on the road in front of the gate of the Laxmibai Nagar agricultural produce market.

Several policemen were deployed at the spot.