Haroa is still bleeding

Haroa in North 24 parganas is bleeding. In a bid to drive away poor farmers from their land and prevent them from cultivation organized attacks have been resorted to by landlords with the help of Trinamool land-grabbers and police. While the situation in Haroa is explosive the trend is similar everywhere in rural Bengal with landlords engaging Trinamool goons against bargadars or sharecroppers who achieved immense benefit through land reforms programme during the three decades of Left Front government. The bargadars were recorded getting hereditary right to cultivate land of landowners and among pattadars khas or government land were distributed for cultivation.

Now, emboldened by the installation of the Trinamool government organized attacks are being mounted on them by landlords with the help of Trinamool goons under the protection of police. Massive eviction of poor peasants is taking place everywhere in rural Bengal.

Most heinous attack has taken place at Haroa in North 24-parganas. A wide area is virtually under siege after Assembly elections. In the first week of July a massive eviction drive took place in which 7063 bighas ( one bigha is nearly one-third of an acre) of land have been snatched away from nearly 10,ooo peasants, mostly bargadars and patta-holders.

On July 9, when evicted peasants assembled at a place called Gazitala in Haroa to resist forcible eviction Trinamool land-grabbers armed with deadly weapons attacked them from different direction. Thereafter, they swooped down upon nearby villages, forced peasants to stop work in fields, posted Trinamool flags , destroyed cultivation and burnt makeshift shelters of peasants, locally known as ‘ala ghar.’ In Tentulia, nearly 12,00 bighas were taken over. In the face of stiff resistance, police arrived in the spot and opened fire injuring six peasants.

Aided by the police Trinamool land-grabbers has already in organized armed operations evicted more than 20,000 poor peasants, mostly bargadars and patta-holders in different districts of West Bengal. While in Haroa at Barasat in north 24-parganas alone recorded an eviction figure of more than 10,000,in West Midnapore and Birbhum the number of sharecroppers and patta-holders evicted are more than 3000 each. The reports of eviction are also available from Bankura and Hooghly.The Trinamool activists have been in many places engaged by Jotedars and Zamindars whose lands are used be cultivated by bargadars. Now with the help of Trinamool goons they are trying to evict the bargadars or sharecroppers.