Scores of landowners from Nambla village of this border town whose land was acquired by the government for construction of a road staged protest on Sunday over non-payment of compensation for the last four years.
The landowners blocked the main road which connects the village to tehsil headquarters and later stopped the construction of the road. The landowners said the authorities started work on 3 km road under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) in 2016.
“More than five kanal of my land were acquired by the department for road construction. At least 35 walnut trees were also cut. But till date I haven’t been paid any compensation,” said Irfan Ahmad Qureshi, a landowner.
Another landowner said that the officials from the Revenue department visited the village for assessment some two years ago. “But there is no word from the government on compensation to the affected landowners,” he said.
The landowners said they would not allow any road construction till their compensation was cleared. Peer Shahjahan Muhammad, Executive Engineer PMGSY, Baramulla said he has taken up the matter with Sub-Divisional Magistrate Uri. “They will get the compensation by November,” he said.