By IANS
Nagpur : Newly elected Shiv Sena MP Prakash Jadhav tonsured his head in public Monday to protest against land acquisition for the proposed expansion of the Sonegaon airport here.
Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra assembly Ramdas Kadam, Vidarbha Rajya Party leader Banwarilal Purohit and Shiv Sena MLA from Raigad Rajiv Samant were present when Jadhav shaved his head amid slogan shouting. He was protesting against land acquisition in and around Shivangaon area.
The action of the young MP from Ramtek has provided a fillip to the on-going agitation by locals of Shivangaon who are demanding enhanced compensation for their land.
Five women of the area had tonsured their heads June 15 after nearly 200 men had done the same demanding compensation of at least Rs.5 million per acre as against Rs.200,000 they have got.
The Sonegaon airport is set to metamorphose into one of the biggest in the country as part of the ambitious Multi-modal International Hub Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN) project, popularly known as cargo hub.
While 644 hectares has been acquired for the airport at Shivangaon alone, over 2,000 hectares has been acquired for the multi-product Special Economic Zone (SEZ) that is coming up around it.
The proposed Maintenance, Repair and Over-haul (MRO) depot of aviation giant Boeing is a part of the MIHAN-SEZ project, which its executive head R.C. Sinha claims to be the biggest on-going project in the country.
A state-government appointed committee had promised Shivangaon residents June 12 that they would recommend higher compensation.