More farmers and quarry workers have joined hands to claim compensation for the land allotted at Gambheeram on the city outskirts for Indian Institute of Management-Visakhapatnam.
Though one family was given the ‘D’ patta in 1968 and 19 in 1991, farmers who were in possession of the land for growing cashew, mango and other crops without pattas and 50 workers of a nearby stone quarry on Sunday took part in a ‘vanta varpu’ (cooking) programme. All of them belonged to Dokkavanipalem, Kalivanipalem, and nearby villages of Gambheeram panchayat.
One of the ‘D’ patta holders, Musallaiah, who owns two acres and 24 cents told The Hindu that they were also supporting the demand for compensation to all the affected families by the government. He said their demand was for land-to-land compensation or reasonable one-time cash compensation through negotiations.
Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu were scheduled to attend the foundation stone laying ceremony of IIM on January 5 but it had to be put off indefinitely following protests by farmers over compensation. In the Common Entrance Test (CAT), IIMs at Visakhapatnam and Bhubaneswar have been included for admission from 2015-16.
During the visit of revenue officials the farmers told emphatically that they would not allow construction work of IIM if the authorities failed to pay them ‘adequate’ compensation as per latest GO issued on rehabilitation and resettlement.