A group of residents in ward 1 of Dhupguri town in Jalpaiguri lay prostrate on a local road on Monday to prevent a team of the district administration and the National Highways Authority of India to measure land in their locality needed for a highway project.

The officials told agitators that they had earlier agreed to part with parts of their land needed to four-lane the East West Corridor (or NH 27), the highway that connects Porbandar of Gujarat with Silchar of Assam.

Protesters alleged that the team reached their place, Collegepara, without any prior intimation.

Other residents said that they agreed to provide land for the project and didn’t know why protesters reacted the way they did.

Policemen and RAF were engaged to disperse protesters. The police chased them away and intercepted some people, including the local BJP councillor Jayanti Roy.

They also detained some people, including women, who were later released.

After the protesters were removed from the area, the land was measured by the team.

“We were supposed to measure land for a 500-metre-stretch of the highway. Some locals however, intentionally resorted to protests and tried to hinder the job,” said Sankhadip Das, the BDO of Dhupguri. Sources in the state PWD said around 2.5 hectares were needed to build a 500m of a four-lane highway.