Political leaders from multiple parties joined farmers in Padgampora on June 8 and 9 to plant paddy saplings in protest against revenue officials stopping cultivation on state land.
On Monday and Tuesday, PDP legislator Waheed Para, PDP leader Iltija Mufti, National Conference leaders Hasnain Masoodi and Mukhtar Ahmad Bandh, and BJP leader Arshad Hussain Bhat entered the fields in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district. They ploughed and planted saplings alongside residents of Padgampora, Dangerpora, Goripora, Wandekhpora and Hajibal villages. The action followed warnings by the Tehsildar of Awantipora against using around 1200 kanals of state land that locals say their families have cultivated for over six decades. Farmer Shabir Ahmad said more than 1000 households depend on the land. Tehsildar Shakeel Ahmad said portions had been allotted for projects including a police housing colony and the Islamic University of Science and Technology, and that he had sought police presence only to prevent a law-and-order issue.