Latifpura protest ends after administration assures flats, plots to affected families

Jalandhar: The protest by nine women and three men from Latifpura ended on Wednesday after the district administration assured the allocation of 49 flats and 15 plots to the affected families at Bibi Bhani Complex and Surya Enclave.The protesters climbed atop a water tank in the Punjab Mandi Board complex on Tuesday after the early morning eviction of a few families. The assurance, however, has ended the three-year-long struggle as some of the affected families at Latifpura have been living in tents after their houses were demolished by the Jalandhar Improvement Trust on Dec 9, 2022.
Different farm and Sikh groups, who have stood by the side of the affected families, also came out in their support on Tuesday. Their support has remained crucial for these families to sustain and protest for over three years. These groups mobilised quite a few protests, including a sit-in for a few months.The 12 protesters climbed down Wednesday afternoon after initial negotiations over phone with additional deputy commissioner (general) Jasbir Singh. Later, they were taken to the district administration complex for a meeting with deputy commissioner Himanshu Agarwal and police commissioner Dhanpreet Kaur.Apart from the affected families, the functionaries of the Latifpura Resettlement Front were also present in the meeting.The DC assured the allocation of 49 flats and 15 plots to the affected families at Bibi Bhani Complex and Surya Enclave. He said the affected families should submit their verified documents, and the allocation process would be completed within 24 hours by the administration.Agarwal also mentioned that the 5% amount usually required for the allocation of flats and plots would not be charged to these families. Additionally, he assured that necessary repairs to the flats would be undertaken by the administration.The DC mentioned that a dedicated team was being deployed to resolve other related issues for these families, ensuring appropriate solutions to their problems. He also said the administration would provide all possible assistance to meet the immediate needs of the seven families relocated from Latifpura the previous day.When the leaders of the organisations raised the demand for compensation, the DC said the matter would be brought to the attention of the competent authority to ensure an appropriate solution. The police commissioner also assured consideration of the dismissal of cases related to the matter.Santokh Singh Sandhu from Kirti Kisan Union, Mandeep Singh from BKU (Rajewal), Kashmir Singh Ghugshor and Hans Raj Pabbwan from Pendu Mazdoor Union, Jaskaran Singh Kahan Singh Wala from Kisan Union Amritsar, Gurdeep Singh Bhandal from Punjab Kisan Union Baagi, Dharminder Singh from BKU (Dakaunda), Bibi Pinde Basi and Lakhveer Singh Saunti from Kisan Union Amritsar, Sukhjeet Singh Droli of SAD (Amritsar) and other representatives were also present in the meeting.MSID:: 128213768 413 |