Govt should not acquire fertile land for railway line in Anantnag: Iltija Mufti

SRINAGAR: PDP leader Iltija Mufti on Wednesday said the government should not acquire fertile agricultural land for the construction of a railway line in the Bijbehara area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district.

“My appeal to the LG administration is to spare the fertile lands, take everything into consideration and then make a suitable decision,” Mufti told reporters here.

Acquiring fertile lands for the construction of railway line is a direct attack on the livelihood of people, she said.

“The question is about agricultural land and the construction of the railway line which will start from Pulwama and pass through Bijbehara and Awantipora. It is wrong. It is a very fertile stretch of land passing through orchards. We have seen people protesting in Bijbehara because you are straightaway attacking their livelihood,” Iltija Mufti, daughter of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti, said.

The PDP leader, who unsuccessfully contested the Assembly elections from Srigufwara-Bijbehara, also said the proposed railway line can have adverse impact on the fragile ecology of Kashmir.

“In case you have to construct the railway line, I am sure you can do it through non-agricultural land. The LG administration on the orders of the Ministry of Home Affairs is now criminalising the livelihoods of people. We have seen how government employees are being fired, and now they are snatching fertile agricultural land as well,” Iltija Mufti said.

“They are constructing satellite towns without any urban planning and without taking into account the fragile ecology of Kashmir. You are making people feel insecure,” she added. (PTI)