Locals protest land acquisition for Ravi project.

LAHORE -- A number of residents of different villages on Sunday staged a protest demonstration against the government for what they said forcibly acquiring their land for the Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project.

Holding placards, the protesters chanted slogans against the government and termed Prime Minister Imran Khan 'head of land mafia'.

They regretted that the area, which is rich in production of the fresh vegetables and fruits being supplied to the provincial capital Lahore and other cities, was being taken over by the government for the project, which they alleged would only benefit the land mafia.

They said the rulers were trying to occupy their lands in the name of the Land Acquisition Act which was not acceptable to them.

The land owners and residents said the government issued section 5 for the construction of a lake in the area and acquisition of land, but it had not yet given them certified copies of section 5 and the project's master plan, in a bid to 'keep the affectees in the dark'.

'Land acquisition act only allows the acquisition of land for the public interest,' said Haji Abdul Ghani, a local grower, while addressing the participants in the first protest rally organised by the Ravi Urban Development Victims Committee at Babakwal village near...