A large number of irate farmers, including women, staged a protest and road blockade in Ujjain on Sunday, alleging that the government is permanently acquiring their land to build a concrete Kumbh city on about 2,400 hectares for the 2028 Simhastha.
The protesters stood in the water holding banners and placards and raised slogans against the proposed plan. They pleaded that most of them are marginal farmers, and if the government acquired their small pieces of land permanently, they would be left with nothing.
The farmers said they have been requesting the authorities that if their land has to be taken, it should be only on a temporary basis until the Simhastha concludes. They also argued why, when they themselves are barred from carrying out permanent construction on Simhastha land, the government is now building a concrete city there.
Police were deployed at the site, and barricades were erected to stop the protest. However, the farmers managed to evade the barricading and reached another spot, where they staged a demonstration in the water.
Another group of protesters reached the grain market and staged a road blockade.
The Simhastha is held every 12 years in Ujjain, with the last one taking place in 2016.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav has grand plans to make the 2028 Simhastha the most spectacular ever, as it will be the first under his tenure and will be hosted in his hometown, Ujjain.