THATTA, Oct 20: To avoid any possible access of Khatedars (land owners) to their land record, who reportedly intend to challenge cancellation of their land allotment in the court of law, revenue authorities of Thatta have shifted entire record belonging to four talukas from revenue office Thatta to the land utilization authorities in Hyderabad, Dawn has learnt through reliable sources here on Thursday.

Senior Member Board of Revenue Sindh and Secretary revenue department, in pursuance of a three member scanning committee through their four consecutive notifications, had cancelled allotments of about 80,000 acres of private agricultural land located in Shah Bandar, Kharochhan, Keti Bandar and Jati talukas after declaring the ownership record as suspicious.

Affected land owners, who claimed to have been holding these lands since their ancestors after being allotted to them during the tenure of General (Rtd) Ayub Khan, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Mohammad Khan Junejo, as well as Benazir Bhutto, told this reporter that these lands were major source of their livelihood.

They claimed that master record of the land in question located in hundreds of dehs of 13 union councils in four talukas had been shifted by the officials with a malafide intention.

Revenue officials hastily cancelled the ownership deeds of more lands to achieve the target of 340,000 acres land required in first phase for the construction of Zulfikarabad. The disclosure has sent shockwaves amongst the local growers.

Meanwhile, Awami Tahreek and JSQM, in order to help the growers, have announced a protest campaign against cancellation of allotments.

Hundreds of khatedars took out a procession at Shah Bandar chowk in Chuhar Jamali on Thursday. Led by Abdul Shakoor Jamali, Mir Mohammad Jamali and others, they raised slogans against the revenue authorities and the proposed Zulfikarabad city project.

In another development, JSQM chairman Bashir Khan Qureshi, after deliberations with the affected abadgars, has announced protest sit-in in Chuhar Jamali next week. He said that cancellation of their land was a conspiracy aimed at to deprive them of their legitimate rights.

Awami Tahreek, at a hurriedly called meeting presided over by its district president, Dilawar Lashari, has announced a protest campaign from October 22 to 31 in Thatta district.