Ferozepur (Punjab): Several protesters were detained for blocking police vehicles as the Punjab police on Sunday launched an operation to evict those blocking the road leading to a distillery and ethanol plant in Mansurwal village. Villagers under the banner of the Sanjha Zira Morcha have been protesting in front of the plant for the past five months demanding that the distillery be shut down as it was allegedly polluting underground water in several villages besides causing air pollution.
Officials said the police were trying to stop more villagers from reaching the protest site. The action came a day after protesters refused to end their 'dharna' despite Punjab Agriculture Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal reaching out to the agitators while assuring them that their concerns will be addressed. Dhaliwal had assured the protesters that their interests would be protected and added that special fact-finding committees comprising experts from various fields will be set up in this regard. However, protesters stuck to their demand of shutting down the plant. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had directed that protesters should be shifted 300 metres from the present spot. The High Court had earlier imposed a fine of Rs 20 crore on the state government for failing to get the 'dharna' lifted after the plant owner moved the High Court.
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Several protesters, who tried to prevent policemen from performing their duties were detained on Sunday, said police. Some villagers, including women, tried to block the Bathinda-Amritsar Highway against the police action, but cops dispersed them from the road. Some tents put up by protesters on the road leading to the plant were also removed by police.
However, protesters continued to sit in front of the distillery. Speaking to reporters in Ferozepur, Senior Superintendent of Police Kanwardeep Kaur said, "Whatever action is being taken is taken as per law." She appealed to protesters that they should obey the orders of the High Court and shift their 'dharna' 300 metres away from the present site.
Some people, who tried to block police vehicles, have been detained, Kaur said. Everything at the protest site and also in a one km radius of the protest site is peaceful, she said, adding that the situation was completely under control. Around 2,000 police personnel, including anti-riot police, have been deployed in Zira besides an anti-riot vehicle has also been deployed near the protest site. On Saturday, police booked 14 people besides 100-125 unidentified persons for allegedly blocking the way of personnel going to perform duties at the 'dharna' site and holding a demonstration at the T-point road going towards the ethanol plant from Ratol Rohi village in Zira sub-division.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had on Friday held a meeting with a delegation of agitators in Chandigarh to address their issues. In the meeting, it was also decided to constitute an Expert Committee from Punjab Agricultural University Ludhiana to ascertain the reasons for the declining productivity of crops and another committee comprising experts from Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot to check the spread of diseases as alleged by the protesters.
Mann had also assured them that another committee of experts from Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU) Ludhiana will be constituted to find the reason behind the deaths of cattle during recent times and another committee of high-level officials to check the contamination of water in the area near Mansurwal as alleged by the protesters. PTI
