Farmers gather in Karnal for mahapanchayat, officials hold talks with their leaders
Karnal(PTI): An 11-member delegation of farmer leaders was invited to hold talks with the district administration here on Tuesday as protesters in large numbers assembled for a mahapanchayat and later planned to gherao the district headquarters.
Senior leaders of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), including Rakesh Tikait, Balbir Singh Rajewal, Darshan Pal, Yogendra Yadav and Gurnam Singh Chaduni, have arrived here for the mahapanchayat demanding action against the police lathicharge on farmers on August 28.
These senior leaders will be part of the talks with the administration and have said that they will raise various demands during the interaction. "We are talking to a delegation of farmers, Karnal Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav told PTI over phone.
Officials said details of the meeting will be shared later.
Meanwhile, security arrangements have been beefed up in Karnal as the farmers have planned to gherao the mini-secretariat here.
There is heavy deployment of Haryana Police as well as central forces in Karnal, while security forces in adequate strength have also been deployed at the new Anaj Mandi here where farmers are holding the mahapanchayat and plan to move towards the mini-secretariat, they said.
Officials said vehicular traffic on the Delhi-Karnal-Ambala National highway was plying normally in the morning.
Haryana Bharatiya Kisan Union (Chaduni) chief Gurnam Singh Chaduni had earlier in the day appealed to the farmers to assemble at the Anaj Mandi in a peaceful manner.
Next course of action will be decided at the mahapanchayat, Chaduni had said in a video message.
However, a statement issued by Haryana Police and Karnal district administration said some people had reached the new Anaj Mandi armed with lathis and iron rods, which does not show good intention on their part.
Ground intelligence reports indicate that some elements from Rambha, some from Nissing and some from other places have reached the Anaj Mandi armed with lathis, iron rods, which does not show good intention on their part, according to the statement.
The statement said police and district administration have spoken to farmer leaders who have tried to persuade such elements to leave the venue, but they are not listening to their leaders .
Karnal district administration and police is warning such mischievous elements not to take the law into their hands and maintain public order. All such elements will be strictly dealt with in accordance with law, it said.
Braving inclement weather in the morning, farmers reached the new Anaj Mandi riding tractors and motorcycles.
Senior police officials have been put on duty at the new Anaj Mandi. There is also heavy barricading and deployment of security forces at the mini-secretariat.
A day ahead of the proposed gherao of the mini-secretariat by the farmers, central forces were deployed, mobile internet services suspended and prohibitory orders banning gathering of people were imposed.
The Haryana government, which had earlier ordered suspension of mobile internet services here from Monday 12:30 pm to Tuesday midnight, decided to suspend these services in four adjoining districts -- Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind and Panipat districts with effect from 12 am to 11:59 pm on Tuesday.
Forty companies of security personnel, including 10 companies of central armed police forces, have been deployed in Karnal district where local authorities have also imposed prohibitory orders under section 144 of the CrPC, officials said.
The SKM, an umbrella body of farmer outfits protesting against the farm laws, had threatened to lay siege to the Karnal district headquarters on Tuesday if its demands were not met.
The Haryana Police had lathicharged a group of farmers disrupting traffic movement on a national highway near here on August 28 while heading towards Karnal to protest against a BJP meeting.
Over 10 protesters were injured. The SKM had said a murder case should be registered against IAS officer Ayush Sinha who was caught on tape allegedly telling policemen to "break heads" of protesting farmers.
Sinha, who was later transferred in a reshuffle also involving some other IAS officers, has now been posted as the additional secretary in the Citizen Resources Information Department.
Chaduni said a meeting with district administration officials was held here on Monday, but after failing to get any satisfactory response about their demands they decided to hold a mahapanchayat on Tuesday before proceeding to the mini-secretariat to gherao it.
He had earlier sought registration of a case against those involved in the lathicharge.
He also demanded a compensation of Rs 25 lakh and a government job for the family of a farmer who died after allegedly sustaining injuries in the lathicharge.
However, the administration here claimed that the farmer was not injured in the police action but had died due to a heart attack.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Over 350 illegal religious structures removed along Nepal border
Lucknow, May 11 (PTI): The Uttar Pradesh government on Sunday said that more than 350 unauthorised religious sites, including madrasas, mosques, mazars and Eidgahs, have been identified and subjected to sealing or demolition in recent days, an official statement issued here said.
Acting on Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's clear directive that no religious encroachment will be tolerated, the administration in districts such as Pilibhit, Shravasti, Balrampur, Bahraich, Siddharthnagar and Maharajganj has launched a sweeping campaign, it said.
The authorities have systematically identified illegal structures and taken strict action, continuing operations even on Sunday.
The chief minister has made it clear that encroachment in the name of any religion will not be allowed and all violators, especially those running unrecognised religious institutions, will face legal consequences, the statement said.
On May 10 and 11, 104 madrasas, one mosque, five mazars and two Eidgahs built illegally on public and private land were identified in Shravasti. All were issued notices and sealed, it said.
One illegal madrasa on public land was demolished and two unrecognized madrasas on private land were sealed, the statement added.
In Bahraich, officials identified 13 madrasas, eight mosques, two mazars and one Eidgah illegally constructed on government land.
After issuing notices, five were sealed and 11 were demolished, including eight madrasas, two mosques and one mazar, the statement said.
In Siddharthnagar, the authorities identified four mosques and 18 madrasas and one more madrasa for illegal construction. Notices were issued to these structures. Five madrasas were sealed and nine were demolished. In total, action was taken against 23 illegal structures in the district, it said.
In Maharajganj’s Nautanwa tehsil, Parsamalik village, an unrecognized madrasa operating on Maktab land was shut down based on a report submitted by the District Minority Welfare Officer.
The building’s keys were handed over to the local police station in-charge. So far, 29 madrasas and five mazars constructed through encroachment on public and private land have been demolished in the district.
In past two days in Lakhimpur Kheri, two mosques, one Eidgah on public land along with eight madrasas on private land were found to be illegally constructed.
Of the 13 structures identified, one was served a notice, nine were sealed and three have been demolished so far, the statement said.
The district authorities in Pilibhit have identified an illegal mosque built on public land in Bharatpur village, covering an area of 0.0310 hectares.
According to the district magistrate, a notice has been issued to the parties involved, seeking a response within 15 days. Action against the illegal construction will be taken after the notice period ends, it said.
On Sunday, an under-construction madrasa on public land in Virpur Semra village, Tulsipur tehsil, was demolished in Balrampur. So far, 30 madrasas, 10 mazars and one Eidgah have been demolished in the district.
Ten of them were built illegally on public land, while 20 were constructed without authorization on private land, the statement said.
