Innovative protest against master plan

Jagtial: Farmers on Saturday came up with an innovative protest expressing their objection to the new master plan 2041 for Jagtial town by the government.

Taking serious objection to lack of response from officials, the protesting farmers organised 'Rangoli. The anguished farmers pointed out that they will lose about 1,000 acres in Timmapur and Mothe Narsingapur villages,in Jagtial rural mandal, if the master plan is implemented.

Men and women in Narsingapur village celebrated 'Bhogi' taking up 'Rangoli' in the foreyards of their homes with messages demanding to delete their lands from the recreation zone in the new master plan. They sent a specific messages to the local MLA to ensure that farmers don't lose their lands. Farmers celebrating Bhogi organised a protest in Jagtial urban mandal, with Sarpanch of Mothe village leading the protest.

A complaint box was put up at the main centre of the village. Farmers dropped xerox copies of their land record passbooks in the box with a single message opposing the master plan. The villagers and farmers said the officials had conducted a fake survey to bring in fertile agricultural lands under the public zone, and semi-public zone in the proposed master plan. They wanted to know how the officials could include these lands in the master plan without even properly obtaining resolutions from the village panchayats. They demanded the local MLA to resolve the issue.

Farmers and villagers in Timmapur organised traditional bonfire marking Bhogi at the local panchayat office. They burnt flexis of the master plan to express their opposition to its implementation.