Farmers air grievances over land acquisition, block Sultanpur road

LUCKNOW Traffic on Sultanpur Road was disrupted for over two and a half hours as hundreds of farmers from the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), led by its district president Alok Verma, started marching towards the chief minister’s residence on Thursday over lack of response from local authorities regarding land acquisition in Sultanpur and Mohanlalganj areas.
During the protest, they aired their grievances regarding land acquisition, insisting on compensation at current market rates rather than the “outdated DM circle rates” and demanded reopening of land registries.
This march came after a 43-day sit-in at Khurdahi Bazar, where farmers expressed their dissatisfaction over the “indifferent attitude shown by the housing development authority and district administration.”
BKU district president of Alok Verma said the demand stemmed from the urgency to secure a dignified livelihood after their land is acquired. He added, “We will not settle anything short of compensation at current market rates rather than old rates. We also want the right of selling rates if the government’s proposal is not found satisfactory.”
In an effort to check the march, the police erected barricades along the route, but the farmers were undeterred, breaking through and causing significant traffic delays.
Lucknow Development Authority joint secretary Susheel Kumar Singh assured of a meeting between LDA V-C and farmers on October 26. Additional housing commissioner Himanshu Gupta promised a follow-up discussion with commissioner, Housing Board, on November 4 regarding their concerns. After these commitments, the farmers agreed to return to their protest site but cautioned that if substantial discussions did not occur, they would consider further actions.