Villagers of Chandauli reached Akhilesh Yadav with a plea to save their ancestral land, alleging forcible acquisition

Lucknow/Chandauli. Villagers of village Tahirpur Milkipur and surrounding areas of Mughalsarai tehsil of Chandauli district have submitted a memorandum to Samajwadi Party national president and former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and made a heartfelt appeal to save the ancestral land of their villages from the forceful acquisition being done in the name of port and front village project. The villagers said that this land is related to their livelihood and identity, which is being forcibly snatched away. Gandhian teacher and writer Vidyadhar, resident of village Tahirpur Milkipur, said that under the guise of the industrial project proposed by the government, conspiracies are being hatched to forcibly acquire the land of villages like Tahirpur, Milkipur, Rasulaganj and Chhota Mirzapur and displace the poor people. Most of this land belongs to the Majhi community, whose livelihood has been dependent on fishing and boating for centuries. According to Vidyadhar, on May 20, without any prior notice, the sub-district magistrate of Mughalsarai reached the village with three bulldozers and heavy police force, which was opposed by the local people. In the memorandum, the villagers have alleged that this action is neither transparent nor in accordance with democratic norms. The signatories to the memorandum included Ishan Milki, Nafees Ahmed, Vinay Maurya, Virendra Kumar Sahni, Aas Mohammad, Akhilesh Singh, Chandra Prakash Maurya and Arvind Kumar Sahni. All of them met Akhilesh Yadav and shared their pain. Many senior leaders of the Samajwadi Party have also raised their voices in support of the villagers on this issue. Chandauli MP Virendra Singh, Samajwadi Mahila Sabha state president Reebu Srivastava, district president Satyanarayan Rajbhar, Sakaldiha MLA Prabhu Narayan Yadav and spokesperson Manoj Kaka have also opposed this forcible acquisition. Teacher Vidyadhar said that he and his colleagues will resist non-violently – “We will not kill, but will not agree either.” While presenting two of his books to Akhilesh Yadav, he expressed hope that the Samajwadi Party will raise its voice against this anti-people action and will come forward to save the land of the poor. The villagers have demanded that the government should shift this project to some other suitable place, so that not only the displacement of thousands of people can be avoided, but also the cultural and social identity of the Majhi community settled on the banks of the Ganga for centuries can be protected.