Madhuparna Das
Indian Express, Posted online: Thu
Nov 08 2012, 02:54 hrs
Dubrajpur, Birbhum : The violence in
Dubrajpur in Bengal’s Birbhum district by villagers protesting against land
acquisition by a private coal mining company has a strong resemblance to
similar campaigns in Singur and Nandigram. Like in those two places, here too
suspected Naxalite activists played a key role and joined hands with a range of
political outfits in the ‘Krishi Jomi Raksha Committee’ (KJRC) or Save
Agricultural Land Committee that led the protests.
However, in a significant difference, the
local unit of the state’s ruling Trinamool Congress is sharply divided over the
controversy. While one faction of the party is with the KJRC, another is said
to have been helping the mining firm acquire land. This faction was regularly
interacting with the firm’s officials at their office in Dubrajpur which has
been closed since mid-September.
Hundreds of villagers armed with bows,
arrows and crude bombs had attacked a police contingent in Loba village near
Dubrajpur in the early hours of Tuesday when they went there to remove
earth-moving equipment of the mining firm, Bengal EMTA. The equipment was used
by Bengal EMTA for excavation about a year ago but had been lying idle after
the villagers protested. More than 25 policemen were injured and some villagers
claimed to have suffered bullet injuries.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday
denied the police had opened fire but ordered an administrative inquiry into
the incident. She described the incident as “unfortunate” and said the
villagers were provoked by outside elements. The inquiry will reveal who
provoked the villagers, she added. “The state government is with the villagers
and the state government’s declared policy is not to acquire land for private
parties. The villagers were not at fault because some of them were provoked,”
Banerjee said.
On Wednesday, when The Indian Express
visited Loba, the villagers had dug trenches across the main roads leading to
the village to stop police and other officials from entering - a repeat of the
tactics used in Nandigram. KJRC members and some other villagers were
well-prepared for Tuesday’s trouble as they had stocked bows, arrows, crude
bombs and some other traditional weapons as they had been tipped off about the
police action, sources said.
Many villagers whose land had been acquired
were unhappy with their compensation and had held on to the earth-moving
equipment for the last 11 months, hoping to force Bengal EMTA into fresh deals.
KJRC leader Asish Mishra said that Naxalite group CPI (ML) and other political
groups such as the Party for Democratic Socialism were present in the village
and were part of the protests for the last three years.
Bengal EMTA had proposed to acquire 3,353
acres of land spread over 11 villages and a population of 20,000 for the
open-cast mine project. But villagers alleged that there was no proper rehabilitation
planned for the displaced and claimed that they had raised this about four
months back when state commerce and industry minister Partha Chatterjee visited
the area. Chatterjee had reportedly promised to take up the issue with the
mining firm. The minister visited Loba again Wednesday and promised the
villagers he would take up the issue with Bengal EMTA.
A company official, however, said there was
no room for new negotiations on the price paid for the land. The company has so
far paid Rs 4 lakh per acre of river-bank land, Rs 8 lakh per acre of one-crop
farmland, and Rs 10 lakh per acre of multi-crop farmland. It has acquired 500
acres from private owners and another 200 acres from the government. The
company would abandon the project but not renegotiate the land price, said the
official who did not want to be identified.
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