Farmers take out rally against land acquisition

More than 500 farmers of villages in Sanand block took out a rally in protest against the land acquisition by Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) for setting up a huge industrial zone in the area.

After the rally here today, representatives of farmers submitted a memorandum to the district collector that they should not be forced to part with their fertile agriculture lands for industry.

It may be noted that GIDC has initiated process to acquire over 5,000 acre of land in villages like Haripura, Charal, Bol, Siyawada near Sanand where Tata's Nano car plant is under construction.

"Over 500 farmers whose lands will be acquired are present in the rally for protesting the state government's move for acquisition of agriculture lands in our villages," Pankaj Vaghela, a district panchayat member from Sanand said.

He said that no farmer wants to give his land due to irrigation provided from the Narmada canals, which enables them to reap three crops a year.

According to him, major crops are paddy, wheat, vegetables and fodder for the cattle.

He said if the land is acquired against the wishes of the framers, animal husbandry will also be affected as it is dependent on agriculture.

He said farmers have requested the state authorities to look for alternative sites to develop industrial zones instead of acquiring fertile lands in the area.