In a major first for the state, rural Gujarat is witnessing a wide uprising against the state government move to handover agricultural and grazing lands to big industrial houses. Agitators in six places in the state under the banner of Gandhian Chuni Vaidya’s Gujarat Lok Samiti (GLS), have joined hands with the cry of Jaan Denge, Zamin Nahin (We will give up our lives, not our lands).

GLS said that if need be a huge public march from Mahuva to Gandhinagar will be organised to create public awareness on the issue of grazing and agricultural land allotment to industries, at the cost of farmers’ interest.

The agitation is presently on in Mahuva taluka of Bhavnagar; in Vadodara Jala village of Sutrapada taluka in Junagadh district; in Mocha village of Porbandar district; in Anwarpura village of Sami taluka of Patan district; in Umargaon taluka of Valsad district; and in Zarpara village of Mundra taluka. The entire Vadodara Jala village is protesting against the recent case of 650 acres of village gauchar (land used for grazing of animals), which was acquired by the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB), Veraval, to be transferred to L&T Port Sutrapada Pvt Ltd, for constructing a private port.

The work was stopped after the gram panchayat passed a resolution condemning it. Dilipsinh Jhala, convenor of the village-level Sangharsh Samiti, had earlier told Newsline, “As of now, the company has the possession on paper, but the villagers continue to stall the work.”

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