Narayanpur, Apr 1 (PTI) Local villagers protesting against the Rowghat iron ore mining project in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district on Friday tried to enter the collector’s office here and clashed with police.
Some protesters as well as police personnel were injured in the scuffles.
Hundreds of villagers have been protesting against the project under the banner of the Rowghat Sangharsh Samiti at Kohdgaon village in the district.
The project is set to come up on Rowghat Hills, spread along the border of the naxal-hit Narayanpur and Kanker districts of the state.
On Friday, protesters gathered at Binjali village and marched towards the Collector’s office in nearby Narayanpur town to submit a 20-point memorandum, demanding that the project be halted.
Police tried to stop them, but the protesters managed to break through the barricades and reached the area outside the collector office where senior police officials tried to pacify them.
Subsequently, a delegation was allowed to enter the office premises to meet Collector Rituraj Raghuvanshi.
But some protestors started shouting slogans against the administration and stormed in. There were scuffles between them and the police personnel.
As police had to use force to control the situation, collector Raghuvanshi came out of his office and assured the protestors that the administration would take necessary steps.
Videos of the protest showed police using baton charge to disperse protesters.
According to villagers, some protestors were injured.
Narayanpur Additional Superintendent of Police Neeraj Chandrakar said that about 10 police personnel also sustained injuries. The injured personnel were shifted to a local hospital, he added.
In the memorandum addressed to the state’s Governor, the villagers said the tribal communities in the region consider Rowghat Hill as an embodiment of their deity, Rajarao Baba, and they will not allow mining in their place of worship.
Mining will also destroy minor forest produce which is their source of livelihood and affect over 22 villages and result in pollution and displacement, it said.
The Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP), which has been allotted Rowghat mines, received permission from the Union Ministry of Environment in January this year to mine three lakh tonnes of iron ore per annum from Anjrel area (which falls in Narayanpur) and transport it by roads, it said.
But the Gram Sabha of any of the affected village has not given its consent to it, the memorandum claimed.
BSP officials, however, claimed that all necessary permission were obtained.
The Rowghat iron ore project is crucial for the state-owned SAIL’s Bhilai Steel Plant as ore in its existing mines is depleting. The company had received the environment clearance (EC) and forest clearance (FC) for the mine by 2012. The company is also investing a substantial amount to create logistical infrastructure such as a rail line from Dallirajhara to Rowghat for transporting ore.
“For mining in small quantities in the Anjrel block which falls in the southern part of the Rowghat mining area, we have received all necessary clearances. After receiving ‘entry upon permission’ from the state government, mining was started there. We also took consent from local gram sabha and gram panchayat twice in 2019 and 2021 for mining in Anjrel,” a BSP official said.
The mining in the main Rowghat area is likely to be started by 2024-25 after the completion of Dallirajhra-Rowghat rail line, he added. PTI COR TKP KRK KRK
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Source: The Print
