High drama unfolded at the Ferozeshah toll plaza on the National Highway-5 (Ferozepur-Ludhiana Road) on Thursday afternoon when members of the BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) occupied a portion of the highway and sowed paddy after dumping soil on the road in protest over an alleged land compensation dispute.
Gursewak Singh of Ferozeshah village claimed the land on which the toll plaza had been set up belonged to him and his brother, Satnam Singh. He alleged that when land was acquired for the national highway project in 2019, an additional 3 kanal 12 marla was occupied beyond the acquired area, but no compensation was paid for the excess land.
Gursewak said while compensation was released for the acquired land, the actual area occupied was larger than what was reflected in official records. He claimed that a fresh demarcation carried out by the patwari and kanungo later confirmed their claim regarding the excess land.
“I knocked on every possible door and met district officials, but in vain. I was left with no option but to take this course of action,” he said.
Gursewak said paddy had been sown only on a small portion of the “disputed” land as a mark of protest. “However, if my grievance remains unaddressed, I will cultivate paddy on the entire 3 kanal 12 marla, which rightfully belongs to my family,” he said.
He alleged that officials of the Public Works Department and the National Highways Authority of India had merely been exchanging correspondence instead of resolving the issue. “We met senior officials last week and they assured us that the matter would be resolved within a few days. However, with no progress on the ground, I was compelled to intensify the protest and seek support from the BKU,” he said.
Later, Revenue Department officials, including Naib Tehsildar Ramesh Dhingra, reached the protest site and pacified the agitating farmers, following which the protest was called off.
Mohinder Singh, block president of BKU (Ekta Ugrahan), said, “We have been informed that a meeting will be held with senior officials. Before deciding our next course of action, we will wait for the outcome of the meeting.”
