70-year-old farmer dies of heart attack, son claims victim of government apathy

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A 70-year-old farmer from Madkona village in the district died of a heart attack today, with his son claiming that he was under stress due to "undervaluation" of his land which was to be acquired by the administration. Arun Jambhulkar, the son of deceased Baliram Jambhulkar, claimed that his father was under stress as the Land Acquisition Officer sanctioned only Rs 1,93,935 for acquiring a portion of the agriculture land ad measuring 1128 square metres.

The land was supposed to be acquired for the National Highway No. 361 stretching between Bori to Tulzapur. Arun said his father was expecting at least Rs 3.85 lakh for the piece of the land in Belona village in Kalamb tehsil of the district. "My father approached the district administration several times to register his protest against the valuation of the land but to no avail. He visited the District Collector's office a number of times to present his grievances, but nobody listened him," he claimed. Arun said his father was "under great stress" for the last seven days due to which he suffered a heart attack.

He alleged the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) also tried to acquire the farmer's land, but refused to acknowledge the act. A farmer from Belona village said the market rate of the said land was Rs 20-25 lakh per acre but the NHAI was acquiring it for only Rs 1.95 lakh per acre. No district administration official was available for comment.

An 84-year-old farmer from Dhule district had committed suicide at the state secretariat in Mumbai last month demanding adequate compensation for his land acquired for a solar project. The death of the farmer, Dharma Patil, had triggered a political slugfest between the opposition Congress and ruling BJP.

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