VISAKHAPATNAM: The land acquisition for establishment of the Indian Institute of Management at Gambheeram village which is about 30 km away from Visakhapatnam city, is facing stiff resistance from farmers of the village. They launched a protest and obstructed an official delegation led by higher education and technical education commissioner K Sunitha and Visakhapatnam district collector N Yuvaraj Friday, demanding payment of compensation before commencement of any other work.
A group of farmers and farm labourers have been staging protests for the last couple of days opposing the land acquisition for the IIM-Vizag which requires about 140 acres of land.
Though a major part of the land belongs to the government, the officials of Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) have acquired part of the land from farmers. Now, the land has been alienated for establishment of the proposed premier management institute for which the foundation will be laid by union HRD minister Smriti Irani and chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday.
However, about 100 families were not paid compensation as they do not have the required land documents. While the farmers argue that they have been cultivating the land for the past 34 years and the government cannot vacate them without providing necessary compensation, the officials pointed out that the farmers were cultivating government land and none of them had proper documentation due to which the government cannot pay compensation for the same.
The protests are being staged for the past couple of days and the agitators vowed to continue the protests and obstruct the establishment of the IIM. However, the officials have made it clear that there would be no compromise.