Ratnagiri (Maharashtra), 28 April (). Protests against the proposed Arab-assisted Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited entered the 5th day on Friday as police fired tear gas shells and baton-charged protesters who tried to stop the ongoing soil survey work in the affected villages.
According to activists, the trouble started this afternoon when over 400 villagers, including several women, tried to stop a team carrying out soil testing work in a village.
The Ratnagiri police had already imposed prohibitory orders in the area till May 31 to enable soil testing work. The police surrounded and tried to disperse the villagers who stopped the testing team, but they continued to protest.
Even after being stopped by the police, the locals continued to be evasive and tried to enter the testing area. Amidst heavy uproar, at one place the police lathicharged the fleeing protesters and fired tear gas shells to disperse them.
According to Sachin Chavan, an activist, the police took six vehicles from the soil testing site into custody and took more than 500 villagers into custody, although the number of arrests is not yet clear.
Sachin Chavan said that we are not allowed to go to these areas. Villagers’ mobile phones have been confiscated, many of our activists have been deported from the district for two weeks, and the media is facing restrictions.
Another activist Satyajit Chavan said in Mumbai that the people of the area were being repressed by the use of police force. They are not allowed to protest in a democratic way.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said in Mumbai that there was no lathicharge by the police, although videos of the incident were being circulated on social media and several local television channels.
Shinde said that the project will not be implemented without taking the local people into confidence, even as the villagers’ leader Kashinath Gorle said that the agitation has been postponed for 3 days to hold talks with the government.
Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana and others have criticized the ruling Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party government, accusing the protesting villagers of excesses.
Earlier on Friday morning, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Vinayak Raut was detained and prevented from going to the soil testing areas.
Nationalist Congress Party Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar, Supriya Sule, State Congress President Nana Patole, Chief Spokesperson Atul Londhe, Sanjay Raut, SSS President Raju Shetty have criticized the Eknath Shinde government.
He called upon the government to immediately interact with the villagers, understand their problems or objections and not go ahead with the projects.
According to the report, prior to the talks with the local people on the project, the villagers have set pre-conditions that remove the police force in the area, stop the soil testing immediately, release the detained people, police notices/protesters Withdraw cases against etc.
FZ/ANM
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