Bhatta Parsaul caught in land knot

In Hindu mythology, the river Yamuna is the sister of Yama, the god of death.  Legend has it that bathers in the Yamuna's waters are freed from the torments of death.  But the 165-km long Yamuna Expressway from Greater Noida to Agra is fast turning out to be the kiss of death for farmers who till the land along its banks. (See videos )

--Text by Puja Mehra

The farmers initially cooperated with the Uttar Pradesh government, selling off their fertile lands for the expressway.  But it was a different matter when the government sought to acquire more land to build urban clusters along the expressway, too.  This time they resisted.  It has now emerged that over the past two years, Chief Minister Mayawati's government forcibly acquired around 6,500 hectares affecting of a population of about 1.3 million. (See videos)

--Text by Puja Mehra

Some of the farmers went to court and in a series of judgments, both the Supreme Court and the Allahabad High Court have struck down a number of acquisitions.  A crucial feature of the judgments has been their questioning of the manner in which the government exercised its powers under Section 17 of the Land Acquisition Act, or LA Act.  Section 17 bars those affected by land acquisition from filing objections. (See videos)

--Text by Puja Mehra

The entry to Bhatta Parsaul village, where violence between villagers and the police erupted on May 7. (See videos)

--Text by Puja Mehra

The village is still dealing with the after-effects.  Several men were jailed, some claim they were beaten. (See videos)

--Text by Puja Mehra

The approach to Bhatta village cuts across fields that have now been acquired by the state government. (See videos)

--Text by Puja Mehra

This girl could not attend school for days following the May 07 violence in Bhatta Parsaul, where farmers protesting the forced acquisition of farmland by the Uttar Pradesh Government clashed with the police. Her father was jailed and her mother was busy arranging his bail, leaving it to her to run the family's kirana shop. This family does not even own any land, she told BT. Also visible is her grandmother. (See videos)

--Text by Puja Mehra

For weeks after the May 7 violence, Bhatta village bore a deserted look. To escape arrest, most young men of the village went over to relatives' homes outside Bhatta. (See videos)

--Text by Puja Mehra

Fields being tilled just off the Yamuna Expressway. (See videos)

--Text by Puja Mehra

The concrete surface is the Yamuna Express, the road is the service road to it. To the other side of the expressway is Bhatta village. (See videos)

--Text by Puja Mehra

A picture taken from the expressway. The service lane is visible, as is the Formula One racing track which is under construction, on land acquired from farmers. Bhatta village is to the other side of the planned sports city. (See videos)

--Text by Puja Mehra

Construction on the sports city. (See videos)

--Text by Puja Mehra

A base camp for construction work along the expressway. (See videos)

--Text by Puja Mehra