BATHINDA: Farmers' yearlong protest against land acquisition for widening of the Bathinda-Dabwali road turned aggressive on Saturday when they tried to break through the police cordon to stop the clearing of roadside trees.
About a year ago, the government acquired 200 acres in a 35-kilometre stretch and paid the owners a varying amount of compensation from the land acquisition award of Rs 150 crore. The acquired land was classified as commercial and agricultural and Rs 100 crore was transferred to the accounts of land owners, more than 100 of whom declined to accept the compensation and began a protest.
