By: Kamran Khamiso Khowaja
THATTA:Violence broke out after villagers and local growers posed stiff resistance against the Anti-encroachment squad, the team of forest department and police during the operation meant to retrieve the state-owned land of Hamalaya forest near Thatta said to be illegally occupied.
The forest department has sprung into action after the Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered the retrieval of state-owned land under illegal possession across the province.
The villagers erected barriers to restrict police and the anti-encroachment squad from advancing that led to the violent clash between police and the villagers, later the rangers personnel intervened to disperse the unruly villagers.
Meanwhile, the villagers held a vigorous protest and staged a sit-in at the Halaya road against the anti-encroachment operation and police action. They told local reporters that the government had leased out the land to them and the operation against them was carried out under a well-established strategy to protect the real land grabbers. They claimed that; They had invested a huge amount for cultivating their agricultural lands but they were being evicted without any compensation.
However the officials of the forest department said that: Thousands of acres of state-owned land have been illegally occupied by influential land grabbers in the Kacho area of district Thatta. The operation could not be completed and the encroachment squad had to leave the scene following a heated reaction by the villagers and local growers.
While the shopkeepers pulled down their shops and vegetable stalls by themselves at Begna Mori a few kilometers away from Jati after they received notice from the district administration.
On the other hand, a girl attempted to end her life by consuming poisonous pills in a village near jati she was rushed to civil hospital jati where her condition was stated to be serious. Her relatives alleged that; Cruelty of in-laws had forced her to take the extreme step.