Bihar: Farmer Protesters torch police vehicles, ambulances, police arrest 4

The 85 day-old protest of farmers of Chausa block in Buxar on Bihar-UP border,140 kms west from here turned violent on Wednesday when the protesters beat up policemen, torched 13 vehicles, set ambulances on fire, damaged the upcoming thermal power plant forcing police to resort to lathi charges and fire in the air. The police said they have arrested farmers' leader, Narendra Tiwary and four others for damaging government property.

Farmers are demanding “better” compensation for the land acquired from them for the Sutlaj Power Corporation's thermal power project coming up at Chausa.

The government had acquired 138 acres of land for the plant being set up with a cost of Rs 11,000 crore. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid its foundation on March 9, 2019 and energy department officials claimed 75 per cent of the work has been completed.

After commissioning, it will generate 1,320 Megawatt power, 75 per cent of which would be supplied to the farmers.

Farmers became angry on Wednesday morning and a group of about 500 protesters attacked a police team and assaulted police officers at Akhoripura Gola outpost. They were agitated over police action in Banarpur village, where police entered the houses of agitating farmers at 11:30 pm on Tuesday, assaulted women and children and arrested five leaders. Farmers alleged the assaulted people while they were asleep in the chilly winter night, dragged them out of their houses.

Agitating farmers on Wednesday morning gate crashed into the power plant complex, set it on fire and torched three ambulances, three fire tenders and five police vehicles. They also set on fire a part of the under construction power plant.

Arrested farmers leaders told this correspondent, they were being paid compensation at the rate of the year 2013 when the power plant was conceived and they needed payment at the current rate which was being denied to them.