Farmers of 25 villages affected by the Ahmedabad-Dholera Expressway have demanded a road network to allow them to commute across the expressway.
They have also warned that there is a likelihood that the current design will result in water logging in the monsoon and some villages could even get submerged. They complained that despite demanding a service road, authorities have been non-committal about providing them with one. Moreover, they have been offered price of land as per jantri rates, which are significantly lower than the market price. According to estimates, over a lakh of people have been affected because of the project.
Farmers submitted a memorandum of their demands to Ahmedabad District Collector Vikrant Pandey recently. Prakash Shah, an advocate, informed DNA that the 90-km expressway linking Ahmedabad and Dholera will divide farmlands of thousands of farmers. “We will not be allowed to pass through the expressway. How will farmers manage farms divided by the expressway? There are cases where the expressway will separate the farm from the residences of farmers. It will be very difficult for farmers to carry out their day-to-day activities and so we are demanding service roads,” Shah said.
Shah added that the process of acquiring land is going on and it was after the objections raised by farmers that a hearing was scheduled but the demand for service roads was refused.
“Since our requests were not met, we made a representation to the district collector,” he said.
Shah also alleged that the construction of the expressway will block the natural drainage of water, resulting in submergence of a number of villages in the region.
