Farmers demand proper compensation for their land in Muzaffarpur on Wednesday. Picture by Puja

Muzaffarpur, Sept. 1: If things go the way it is going, Muzaffarpur would soon witness a Singur-like agitation.

More than 5,000 farmers belonging to 15 thickly populated villages situated along the Muzaffarpur-Patna road on national highway 77 are on a warpath. Farmers of Rajla, Fatehpur, Kamtol, Sakri, Turki, Kafen, Madhol, Bishunpur, Chandrahatti, Balia, Thumha falling under the Kudhani block of the district are venting their anger against the highhandedness of district authorities in acquiring their lands on a nominal compensation.

The district administration had issued notices to the landowners of the aforesaid villages whose lands are located by the side of NH-77. Farmers have been asked to handover their lands that came within the periphery of the project to convert NH-77 into a four-lane and construction of a mega bypass.

Gammon India, a construction agency that took up the project also started carrying out some preparatory work on the lands of villagers against their wishes. Under pressure over the proposed payment of meagre amount of compensation, thousands of farmers of said villages accompanied with the Janata Dal(United) legislator from Kudhani Assembly constituency Manoj Kushwaha staged a violent demonstration outside the office of the district magistrate, Anand Kishore, and decried over the highhandedness and unfair treatment of the district officials.

Farmers have threatened self-immolation to protest against the proposed compensation.

They demanded compensation on par with the commercial rates of lands.

Kushwaha said the district administration has pinpointed and spotted 302 acres of land on both the flanks of NH-77 adjacent to the villages on Muzaffarpur-Hajipur road.

Villagers and landowners readily agreed to transfer their land to the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) but now they are on warpath because of the meagre amount of compensation being proposed for them. Kushwaha expressed surprise over the decision of compensating the farmers on the basis of survey of land conducted in 1966.

“This is not justified. Since 1966, the valuation of land has increased manifold. The lands supposed to be acquired are located by the side of the national highway and has great opportunity for commercial and residential purposes, farmers are thus determined not to handover their land at such a price.”

Gauri Shahi, a farmer of Madhol village, who too received notices served by the administration regarding handing over a piece of land, said: “The district administration is shying away to give compensation adequately and has hatched up a plan to usurp land.”

Sanjay Das of Turki village said that the farmers are in a belligerent mood and are ready for self-immolation if demands are not met.

State JD(U) vice-president Harendra Kumar said that a delegation of farmers of the said villages would meet chief minister Nitish Kumar and would plead compensation of land on commercial rate.