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Punjab CM asks Modi to save livelihood of farmers who were brought from Punjab and settled in Kutch. After being brought in as shields to protect against the influx of infiltrators from

Pakistan, the 1000-odd farmers in Kutch, who are originally from Punjab and Haryana, have suddenly become unwanted in their ‘adopted’ home state, Gujarat. Their 9,100 acres of agriculture

land has been frozen by the district collector of Kutch. Ironically, these farmers have won the legal battle over the land in Gujarat high court but the state government has gone to the

Supreme Court in the matter.  Left with no choice, these farmers made a representation to the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Parkash Singh Badal who is also the Punjab chief minister. SAD

is a close ally of BJP-led NDA. Badal, who shares good rapport with Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, wrote to him and to BJP president Nitin Gadkari seeking their intervention in the

matter as it affects the livelihood of thousands of farmers. In separate letters to Modi and Gadkari, Badal said the orders of the Kutch collector to freeze more than 1,000 ‘Khedut Khatas’

(agricultural accounts) of the Punjabi-origin farmers was an injustice to these people who had developed this barren land into a fertile one by dint of hard labour. Badal said he was upset

when he came to know that though the Gujarat high court had given a ruling in favour of these farmers, the state government had gone in appeal to the Supreme Court against the high court

order. These farmers have been settled in Kutch district since 1965 when they were allotted 42-acre plots in the area. “After the 1965 war with Pakistan, the central government had allotted

land to us in Lakhpat taluka of Kutch district. When the land was allotted, it was barren and there was no source of water. With hard work, we have developed this into fertile land. This is

our only livelihood,” said Jugraj Singh, sarpanch of Nara village, who is also one of the affected farmers. “We do not know what the motive behind the state government’s move is. However, we

want to say that now we are part of Gujarat. There are families here who don’t even know how to speak Punjabi,” Singh added. (With agencies)