Mohammadbazar: Despite ongoing protests, excavation work at Deocha-Pachami coal block in West Bengal's Birbhum district is underway amid police protection.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had announced at the Bengal Global Business Summit on February 5 that work will commence from February 7. However, as soon as work started, locals agitated at the site and senior officials, including Birbhum district magistrate Bidhan Roy, district superintendent of police Amandeep Singh and Rajya Sabha MP Samirul Islam faced protests.
Now, since the CM had made the announcement at the state's flagship industrial summit, it became an uphill task for the administration to ensure that the work goes unhindered. State rural development board president Anubrata Mandal convened an emergency meeting for four hours with the top administrative officials at the Mohammadbazar BDO office.
After this, the DM and SP reached Mathurapahari with JCB machines but residents started protesting with sticks. However, administration went ahead with the excavation work even though protests continued.
The West Bengal government claims that the Deocha-Pachami, which is Asia's largest and world's second largest coal block, will be the state's biggest investment project before the Assembly elections next year. It has reserves of 1,240 million tonnes of coal and 675 million tonnes of basalt. The administration is considering mining coal through tunnels in addition to open-pit mining. This new proposal is being considered so that a large number of locals do not have to part with their land.
Presently, work is underway on government land throughout the day and night under police protection. There are many Mahua trees in this area. The tribals had demanded that since these trees are associated with their faith, they cannot be chopped off. So, the government has started relocating the trees in a scientific manner. This apart, 'pattas' are being prepared for people who have settled on private land.
There are 20 villages spread across 3400 acres of land and 21,000 people reside here, of whom most are tribals. There are also forests, wetlands and pastures. Since beginning, most of the residents have been reluctant to give away their land for mining and agitating for a long time. Government jobs and a financial package has already been announced for the land losers.
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