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| Tension erupts in Purkhoo, Police cane-charge farmers | | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Mar 21- The scene of two months long agitation was again this evening when farmers of Purkhoo area who were protesting on the highway became the subject of lathicharge by police inviting intervention of BJP leader and candidate from Jammu-Poonch Parliamentary Constituency Leela Karan Sharma.
The incident occurred when the farmers of the area protesting on the highway to register their resentment against authorities to allow the waters of Ranbir Canal flow, the repairable work of which was going on for the last quite months, as their crops require irrigation which without canal waters are dying. In the police lathicharge fifteen persons reportedly received injuries. The situation was controlled only after the intervention of senior police officers including SDPO of the area Mohit Gupta and Additional SP Rural Mohan Lal and a magistrate sent by DC Jammu Mandeep K Bhandari who assured enquiry into the incident. When DC Mandeep K Bhandari contacted he told EARLY TIMES that the canal repairable works are on and as per reported by Irrigation department officers, “ the waters in the canal will be allowed to flow by 31 of the March of this year which was much earlier then the previous years as earlier the waters are allowed to flow during Baisakhi festival” .Where as Leela Karan has given ultimatum to the authorities to open the canal by tomorrow.
Sharma, who visited Purkhoo to have on the spot assessment of the situation arising out of the brutalities of the police on farmers, said that this high handedness of police is condemnable as the poor farmers whose only crime is that they were holding peaceful demonstration and demanding release of water through Ranbir Canal for irrigational purposes. He said a farmer is totally dependent on his crop for his survival and provision of fertilizers and timely water is must for it. If a farmer does not get water to irrigate his farms on time, he can not expect to have crops and such a situation may lead to starvation.
The BJP leader, who also took up the matter with the higher civil and police officials, said that this is not the first incident where Rajesh Sharma has taken such a step without any magisterial orders. This police officer, in the past too, had been harassing and using unlawful methods to suppress the voice of the innocent and poor people, alleged Leela Karan and added that he needs to be punished. He warned the administration of wide spread protests and demonstrations in case the SHO is not attached and inquiry initiated against him.Where as SHO Kanachak when contacted said that he resorted to mild lathi charge to disperse the agitator as army convoy was stopped by the agitators and CEO asked him to clear the road other wise army would take action.
He also took to task the Irrigation Department for not taking timely and effective steps to ensure supply of water through canal to the farmers. He asked the department not to test the patience of the farmers declaring that the BJP is with the farmers and would not tolerate such delay policy of the concerned department. |
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