"After Independence, about half of Ballapur's residents got rights to some land - the land that they were permanently cultivating. But most of the land that they cultivated was on short-term lease (kooth) and they did not get ownership of this land"

"In the late 1950s, the Gomti river changed its path and deposited a huge pile of sand on Pitouli's more fertile lands. We had to move our village a kilometre inland, and lost about half of our landholdings"

"The Chakbandi in Wazirnagar Panchayat was conducted in 1963. Then, the ceiling laws weren't in effect, so not much land was freed up. Whatever parthi zameen was available was distributed. We didn't know that we had to ask for common lands during the Chakbandi, so there was no grazing land allocated in our village. Grazing lands were identified in other villages in our Panchayat."

"The Ballapur zamindars were the first to grow trees in the bhur region. Their orchard was planted in anticipation of the ceiling announced in 1966-67. The ceiling for orchards was higher, so this was one way of protecting land. Desi mango trees take about 8 years to fruit."

"The Yadavs in Jajpurva owned more land, the Paasis less. Yadavs bought more than 30 bighas of land from Saadatnagar landowners and increased their holdings. Meanwhile, the Paasis did not sell land, but their landholdings dropped due to having large families"

"Pattas were made to landless or marginal landholding families in Ballapur, but the land was not distributed - the Zamindar family is very powerful. My family got a patta, but we don"t even know where the land is."

"There was grazing land (40 bighas), land for homes (6 bighas), khalihaan (threshing ground) and a playground. Now they are all encroached by villagers"

"There was forest land near the road and 27 bighas of grazing land, now very little is left"

"Chakbandi took place in Sundarpurva in 1970-75. Our forefathers were not knowledgeable, they thought 'we will get a good chak (piece of land) for ourselves'. Instead, a lot of good land in Sundarpurva went into the hands of Saadatnagar farmers"

"Sataana had 3 bighas of land. Her husband had a vasectomy and they were allotted 5 bighas, though only half came into their possession. Some 5-6 families got 2 bighas each in our village after having vasectomies."

"In Bareliya Gram Sabha the land ceiling limits, set at 15 acres, were implemented during Chakbandi in 1979-80. No one had land above the limits, but 2% was taken from every landowner. Some forest land was distributed, but most of the land distributed to the landless or marginal farmers was on a sloping channel between two rivers. The Soil Conservation Department built bunds, then cut terraces into the channel. These fields are now irrigated and farmers cultivate wheat there."

"Earlier, there was a lot of rain and land flooded from Maliyani to Sultannagar (3 km). When the canal was full, it would be breached and the water filled the jhaabar. The Jhaabar connected with the Gomti river through the canal. Short-term pattas were given to families on the edge of the Jhaabar in the 1980s, but they continued to cultivate there even after the pattas expired. As the Jhaabar receded, they encroached on the exposed land."

"The Soil Conservation Department worked on our village forest. It was divided into 4 parts and bunds were built, trees were planted. But many of the trees were uprooted and stolen – people planted them on their own land. Then, the new Pradhan took up tree planting, but he selected diesel trees (jatropha) and not fruit trees. They are of no use to us. Earlier, we were scared of entering the forest - there were bandits, but now kids play there. Now it is a jungle in name only"

"During the early days of the MGNREGA struggle, in 2006-07, ponds were built in the Miyapur jhaabar. That time there was still water in the jhaabar. But gradually the rains reduced and even the ponds did not fill up - only in years with heavy rainfall do they fill up. When digging the ponds, the soil dug out was spread in the Jhaabar and maybe that elevated it. Anyway, the Jhaabar is dry now and people farm there."

"Malathi's father-in-law owned 90 bighas of not-so-fertile land. It was distributed between his two sons. Malathi has 5 sons and 3 daughters – each son will receive 9 bighas. One son has two sons, so it will be further divided. So, over 4 generations, the landholding has dropped sharply"

"There are 3 lakes in Wazirnagar and 3-4 lakes in Miyapur. The contracts for fish in these lakes were auctioned just last year by the Tehsildar – these are 10 year contracts. Some people in Miyapur took these contracts. Earlier, this was done by the Pradhan but now the government wants to manage these directly. These lakes are not getting filled, so how will they get much fish? But the contract amounts are very low - three or four thousand, so maybe it is ok for them"

"The Jhaabar near Rannupur spanned seven villages. But after a drainage canal was built, the water has receded and powerful farmers have taken it over. They cultivate paddy and sugarcane now."