Protesting industrial initiatives throughout separate public hearings for industrial growth on Monday, residents of Chirga village in Chhattisgarh’s Sarguja district held an officer captive, whereas in Bastar’s Chapka village the protesters chased out an MLA.
Villagers in each tribal-dominated districts stopped the hearings.
At Chirga, 365 km from state capital Raipur, district officers known as the listening to concerning Alumina Refinery & 3×10 MW Captive Cogeneration Power Plant proposed for the village. The listening to in Chapka was for the Rs 490-crore Mini Integrated Steel Plant, which is able to produce over 3.35 lakh TPA sponge iron.
At Chirga, villagers against the challenge, who’ve written to a number of authorities departments towards permitting it, began protesting in regards to the public listening to being held regardless of rising Covid-19 circumstances. “The district is under Section 144, Covid-19 cases are rising, and we are told to follow distancing norms. What was so urgent that the meeting had to be held even as several districts have gone under lockdown,” requested Lilavati Painkra, a zila panchayat member from Chirga.
The villagers then chased away the officers and authorities representatives, which was recorded on digicam by native journalists. One officer who was left behind was chastised by the protestors and he fled later, native residents stated.
Chirga residents there stated they’re protesting towards the challenge not only for themselves however your complete district. Gangaram Painkra, a resident and convenor of Chhattisgarh Van Adhikar Manch, stated: “The refinery is going to come up in catchment areas of the dam that supplies water to Ambikapur district. If the plant is built, there won’t be water to drink for all of us.”
In Bastar’s Chapka village, an analogous protest towards a proposed sponge iron challenge was registered within the public listening to. One villager stated, “The plant will obstruct the path of a tributary of Indravati, leading to flooding in our village. We will lose our land, which we anyway don’t want to give for the company.”
At Chapka, 42 km from district headquarters Jagdalpur, MLA Chandan Kashyap, who had joined the listening to, was chased away by the villagers. Stray incidents of stone-pelting have been additionally reported.
Bastar collector Rajat Bansal stated, “An FIR is being lodged against miscreants who, in the guise of villagers, pelted stones. Some of them have been identified and they were possibly inebriated at the time.”
Chapka residents, nevertheless, stated they have been solely reacting to threats of one of many proponents of the challenge. “A few anti-social elements started threatening us and wouldn’t let the villagers state their point. Some villagers then started objecting,” one attendee stated.
Alok Shukla, convenor of Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan, stated: “Sponge iron units are one of the heaviest polluting industries. While the previous government was against it, the present Congress government is encouraging these plants. In both incidents, the villages come under the Fifth Schedule, where one cannot go against wishes of the villagers. Why then would a public hearing be called in the middle of a pandemic?”
