Farmers owning 4000 acres of land deserted by government-Aujla

Ajnala, 8 July (Punjab Post Bureau) –  DCC Rural Amritsar chief Gurjeet Singh Aujla and other Congressmen visited the farmers at Saharan Patanin Ajnala constituency and discussed the issues faced by the farmers of the area. Farmers informed that around 4000 acres of land belonging to villages Pachiya, Jatta, Sajda and Saharan across river Ravi has become inaccessible for the farm owners. There is no bridge or a barge to go across and for transporting farm equipment. SDM office has provided a small light weight boat without official operator for a few days at Saharan Patan but there is no arrangement for farm equipment if water level rises. A temporary bridge at Dharamkot is installed over Ravi from October till June which is at a distance of 22-25 Kms from Saharan Patan. Farmers have to walk through Ravi to access their lands. Furthermore, electricity supply to these lands is too little to do proper irrigation. Due to a limited number of motor connections, farmers are forced to generate power using expensive fuel and the production cost increases. BSF further adds to the plight of the farmers. ID card issues, time frame, gates, farm labor etc. are the basic issues which these farmers face on daily basis. Commenting on the situation Aujla said that border areas of Ajnala have been facing desertion since long. State as well as union government are least concerned about resolving these issues. He assured that as soon as Congress forms government in 2017, these issues will be resolved on fast track. He also informed that a representation regarding these issues have been sent to Union Home Affairs so that the norms for the farmers having lands beyond fence may be relaxed/mended. He also demanded that a barge be provided to the farmers at Saharan Patan so that they may easily transport heavy equipment across Ravi.