Kolkata, June 21 -- The Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR) has urged the Murshidabad district administration not to hand over multi-crop agricultural land in a border area of Jalangi block to the Border Security Force (BSF) without the consent of cultivators.
In a memorandum dated June 18 and addressed to the District Magistrate, Murshidabad, APDR alleged that on May 31 attempts were made to acquire a recorded three-crop farmland at Bhutgarir Math in the Ghoshpara-Sarbapalli area of Jalangi block under Domkal subdivision. According to the organisation, BSF personnel marked the land with red flags, triggering protests by local farmers.
The rights body said the protest led to a road blockade by cultivators and that police and BSF personnel later visited the area. APDR claimed the gathering was withdrawn after local police authorities gave a verbal assurance that the agricultural land would not be taken over. The memorandum states that a nine-member APDR fact-finding team visited the area on June 3. According to the organisation, Bhutgarir Math comprises around 15,000 bighas of recorded three-crop agricultural land on which farmers from five villages - Dakshin Ghoshpara, Sarbapalli, Farazipara, Muradpur and Uttar Ghoshpara - depend for their livelihood.
APDR claimed that crops such as jute, wheat, kalai, lentils, garlic, onions and vegetables are cultivated on the land and that around 600 families rely on it. The organisation alleged that nearly 3,000 people would be affected if the land was acquired.
In the memorandum, APDR demanded that the farmland should not be handed over to the BSF without the consent of cultivators. The organisation also called for an end to the alleged pushback of suspected Bangladeshi nationals and sought the closure of holding centres
in Murshidabad.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.