A multi-million dollar project to build a huge statue of Buddha and develop Kasya (the site where the Buddha spent his last days) as a tourist site threatens to displace 700 families from 600 acres of cultivable land.

The ongoing relay fast by farmers of Kushinagar district against the proposed Maitreya project entered its 60^th day today. About 150-200 people assemble everyday at the dharna spot, Village Siswa Mahanth, one of the villages going to be affected by the project. The farmers have organized a 61 days and 17 days relay fast similar to this earlier also. Last year 65 farmers also went to see Mulayam Singh Yadav when he was the C.M. and inspite of an assurance from him that the project would not go ahead, land is being acquired by the district administration.

 The Maitreya project, with external funding (the website www.maitreyaproject.org makes an appeal to contribute a dollar a day for this $US 250 million project, of which $US 195 million is for the statue alone) aims to build a 500 ft. Gautam Buddha statue and develop Kasya, in the Kushinagar district, as a tourist centre. Gautam Buddha had passed away in Kasya and a number of temples dedicated to Buddha are already established here. It is a prominent spot on the Buddhist tourist circuit in India and the famous statue of Buddha in lying position is located here. The project was approved by the erstwhile BJP government of Rajnath Singh.

In order to facilitate the acquisition of land a former District Magistrate Ashish Goyal had sent a report to the state government that the land chosen for the project was barren and uneven. The fact is that about 660 acres of land on which 700 families depend for their survival is very fertile and cultivable. In addition, about 600 acres of government land, belonging to Gram Sabhas, schools, roads and for other public purposes will also be lost if the project is constructed. The project website claims, ‘The State Government of Uttar Pradesh, India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the State Government and Maitreya Project Trust and, in compliance with the Indian Land Acquistion Act, has completed the necessary legal requirements for the acquisition of the 750-acre land site to be made available to Maitreya Project, in Kushinagar, UP in northern India.’

Maitreya Project Trust is a private entity and has roped in an number of private corporations in this project. The government says that people being displaced can find employment in opportunities which will be generated because of large tourist influx when the project will be complete. In order to protect the tall Buddha statue, no new industry with a potential pollution threat, will be allowed in a radius of 50 km from the project site.

It is clear that for the government the Buddha statue and foreign investment and tourists are more important than real people living in the area and their development.

NAPM is supporting the struggle of local farmers and is holding a U.P. state level meeting in Village Siswa Mahanth, 3 km from Kasaya in Kushinagar district. The nearest big railway station is Gorakhpur and Kasya is 53 km from Gorakhpur. For more information please contact Keshav Chand at 9839883518 or Uday Bhan at 9935445489.

Presently the area is also affected by heavy floods which have devastated large parts of eastern U.P. and neighbouring Bihar.

Keshav Chand  (Asha Parivar, Deoria), Chanchal Mukherjee (Samajwadi Jan Parishad, Varanasi)

On behalf of the farmers’ struggle committee: Govardhan, Udaybhan, Digvijay, Jitender, Kalami, Janardan Singh, Bhrigunath, Khajanchi, Premshila, Malti, Hridayanand, Genda Singh and other famers, residents of affected area.