[Buddha-l] Re: A Maitreya theme park projected for Kushinagar--goodgrief!

[jkirk]

This article is well-worth reading:

http://www.wildriverreview.com/airmail_india-maitreya.php
Excerpt:
...The state government of Uttar Pradesh has offered to give the Maitreya
Project an expansive tract of land (between 660 and 750 acres, depending on
whom you ask) on which to build their giant statue. However, the tract of
land isn't owned by the state government; it's owned by small local farmers.
Villagers from seven villages (including Anirudhwa) stand to lose some or
all their farmland, and many will lose their homes as well.

How many people will be affected? It's difficult to say, partly due to the
fact that extended families sometimes live under the same roof, partly due
to quickly changing and contested demographics, and partly due to politics:
A Maitreya Project official told me 1100 families, local newspapers were
consistently reporting 1400 families, the farmers said it was closer to 2000
families; recently, a government official told me that it was actually 3000
families.

The minority who are losing their homes face additional uncertainty. They've
been told they will be “rehabilitated,” but state officials have no plan yet
to resettle them elsewhere. A government Land Acquisition Officer told me
that instead of being resettled, they will be given a check to compensate
them and will have to find someplace else to move, whether they agree to the
terms or not.

Very few farmers have agreed to the terms, and therein lies the problem. In
rural India, land is “Mother.” It feeds, it provides, it breathes. The
government officials are crystal clear: If the farmers refuse to budge, then
police will be mobilized to clear the land. [more]

Joanna

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