Yogi gives land rights to over 4,300 Tharu families in Lakhimpur

Lucknow: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath allotted land rights to 2,350 families displaced by land erosion and 4,356 families of the Tharu community in Lakhimpur district on Saturday.The CM issued a warning to those attempting to become mafia, saying they should be prepared to be ground to dust. “Govt will not allow any mafia to flourish, snatch the rights of the poor, or loot the jobs of the youth,” he said. Yogi also inaugurated and laid foundation stones for 314 development projects worth Rs 817 crore for Palia, Shrinagar, Nighaasan, and Gola Gokarannath assembly constituencies.Saying that true governance is defined by happy people, he said that only a sensitive govt is able to serve people. The people gave us the mandate, so we are giving them their rights, he said.The CM said the dependents of freedom fighters from eastern UP had settled in the region in 1955, but none in the three generations that had lived there had been given land rights. Chandan Chauki, where the CM was addressing the gathering, is the pride of the district, he said, adding that the roots of tribal culture, self-respect, and the fertility of the Terai flourish together there. “Chandan Chauki and dozens of Tharu-dominated villages around it were struggling for identity. They were once harassed by the forest, police, and revenue departments. The Tharu community, which has a history of valour and bravery and was struggling for identity, is finally receiving its rights,” he said.In 1976, there was talk of giving land to the Tharu community in these villages, but they did not get land ownership. In 1955, the freedom fighters who came from eastern UP also could not get ownership rights.Yogi attacked the previous SP govt for having failed to give the community its rights for so many years, accusing them of being caught in dynastic politics and not caring for the Tharu community. He said they had imposed curfews, nurtured mafia and criminals, and created an identity crisis for the youth.“Earlier, development used to happen only in Saifai. One family used to swallow everything, but for BJP, UP’s population of 25 crore is family. Equal development is happening in every district. Now land, name, respect, and identity are also being given,” he said.During the event, the CM asked MLA Romi Sahni to expand her bakery business in Chandan Chauki and surrounding areas, and connect self-help groups run by the Tharu community with the business. More than 300 women SGHs are functional in the region and each has been provided with a revolving fund of Rs 30,000 and a community investment fund of Rs 1.5 lakh.Speaking about the works being carried out in the area, the CM listed the Gola Gokarannath corridor, the country’s first PLA plant in the Gola Gokarannath assembly constituency, in addition to a plastic park.“The actual name of Lakhimpur Kheri was Lakshmipur. Where earlier districts were known for criminals, Lakhimpur Kheri is now known for Dudhwa National Park, Palia airport, Chandan Chauki, Baba Gola Gokarannath, and the medical college established in Shrinagar,” the CM said.