Farmers affiliated with the BKU-Dakonda on Sunday staged a protest at the Ladowal toll plaza, considered one of the costliest toll plazas in Punjab, and suspended toll operations for nearly half an hour while raising slogans against the Centre over pending compensation for land acquired for the Jammu-Katra highway project.
The protesters alleged that although their land had already been acquired and construction work on several stretches of the highway had been completed, many affected farmers had either received partial payments or no compensation at all. During the protest, farmers parked their vehicles across toll lanes, disrupting traffic movement and toll collection for around 30 minutes.
As soon as information about the protest reached the administration, police and civil officials rushed to the spot. SDM Kuldeep Singh also reached the toll plaza and held talks with farmer representatives in an attempt to defuse the situation. Following assurances from the administration, the farmers temporarily called off the protest but warned that the toll plaza would again be shut indefinitely if their demands were not addressed by the Centre.
Speaking during the protest, BKU Dakonda leader Jagrup Singh Hasanpur said the farmers had approached the administration nearly 45 days ago regarding the issue of pending compensation. He stated that farmers, whose land fell under the Jammu-Katra road project, had handed over the possession of their land in good faith after assurances from the authorities.
However, he alleged that many farmers were yet to receive full payment for their land. Some farmers had received only half the amount, some even less, while several others had not been paid anything during the past two years. He further claimed that when farmers approached government offices regarding the issue, officials cited delays in fund release from the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).
The farmer leader warned that if the NHAI failed to release the pending payments, they would intensify their agitation and gherao toll plazas. He also alleged that in certain cases, farmers had received notices from the government, asking them to return compensation amounts already credited to their accounts. He said the farmers had lost their agricultural land but were still deprived of adequate compensation needed to purchase new land or sustain their livelihoods.
Jagrup added that despite continuous dialogue with administrative officials, compensation was not being released. He further claimed that government funds meant for several village panchayats had also been withheld, affecting development works in rural areas. The farmers have demanded a written assurance from the government, specifying a timeline for releasing the pending compensation.
Meanwhile, SDM Kuldeep Singh said the administration had received a list of 54 farmers whose payments were pending. He stated that the names of 20 farmers had already been forwarded to the NHAI, while directions had been issued to expedite payments to the remaining farmers as well. He added that compensation of nearly Rs 30 crore had already been released since February 20.
