Buried neck-deep in pits, farmers protest land acquisition

Over 50 farmers buried themselves neck-deep in the ground on Wednesday to oppose the Jaipur Development Authority's move to acquire land in their village on the city's outskirts for a housing project.

The unique relay protest, or 'Zameen Samadhi' as the protesters call it, has been on since October 2 with both men as well as women from the Ninder village participating.

The farmers of this village near the Sikar road are up against the JDA's decision to acquire 1,350 bighas of land.

The acquisition process was initiated a fortnight ago.

Initially, the farmers and residents sat on a dharna. But as no respite seemed to be in the offing, they chose this unique form of protest from Gandhi Jayanti onwards to draw attention to their plight.

"We are against the acquisition and demand a fresh survey of the land. We had a meeting the JDC commissioner today and the talks will resume tomorrow," Nagendra Singh, convener of the Ninder Bachao Kisan Yuva Samiti, told PTI.

He claimed that only 274 bighas had been surrendered by the farmers and residents.

"Fifty one members participated in the relay protest today burying themselves neck-deep in pits and this will continue till our demand for a fresh survey is met," he said.

The farmers have dug up over 40 pits and one trench where the protesters stay. The relay protest is continuing day and night, Singh said.

Elderly women sit on chairs placed in the trench whereas male members stand or sit in the pits.