Hisar: A day after talks with the administration failed, nine farmers, including a differently abled protester, climbed electricity transmission towers in Sirsa on Wednesday. Carrying cots, food and water, they vowed not to come down until their demand for higher compensation for land used for high-voltage transmission towers is met.The protest unfolded at Vaidwala village, where transmission towers are being erected for a 220-kV double-circuit power line. Farmer representatives said the market value of land in the area ranges between Rs 3.5 crore and Rs 4.5 crore per acre, but the compensation offered by the govtfor the transmission project is much lower. Further claiming that villagers in districts such as Sonipat were receiving substantially higher compensation for similar infrastructure projects, they demanded parity in payouts.The agitation began when the owner of the farmland, Bhupender Singh, climbed one of the towers after alleging that officials prevented him from entering his own field during construction work. As tensions escalated, eight more farmers joined him. Police and officials from the power utility rushed to the site and cordoned off the area. Soon after, Bharatiya Kisan Union (Chadhuni) president Gurnam Singh Chadhuni, in a live social media address, extended support to the protesters and appealed them not to take any extreme step. He later reached the site to join the sit-in protest. A delegation led by Chadhuni and other farmer representatives subsequently held talks with the administration amid heavy police deployment.The protest briefly turned tense after a worker engaged in tower construction was allegedly slapped during an altercation near the site. Police intervened and maintained a heavy presence to prevent the situation from escalating.Officials, however, maintained that the transmission line is a critical infrastructure project aimed at strengthening power supply in the region by providing an alternative electricity corridor during emergencies. Officials said the compensation issue was already referred to higher authorities for reconsideration and asserted that work had progressed smoothly in most villages, with resistance limited to a few landowners in the village.Caption of photo: Farmer sitting at high-voltage transmission towers MSID:: 132264146 413 |
