Eight members of the Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR), headed on Wednesday towards the proposed Deocha-Pachami coal mine project site to assess the situation and listen to the demands of the tribal dwellers, were prevented from reaching their destination by over 200 persons allegedly backed by the ruling TMC.
A woman in the APDR team, Ranu Ghosh, fell ill when the car they were in was stopped by a mob near Sheorakuri in Mohammedbazar, some 10km ahead of the site.
"They not only detained us but also abused us and snatched our mobile phones for the time being, asking why we wanted to go to Deocha-Pachami. They were 200-odd people, all belonging to the TMC," said Rangta Munshi, an APDR secretary.
"The obstruction began on Wednesday morning when we discovered the gate of our guest house was locked...," Munshi added.
The APDR activists questioned if the government was trying to hide something about the site of the proposed coal mine, alleging that both the police and TMC supporters prevented them from going there.
CPM state secretary Md Salim on Wednesday urged people to support the tribal protest against the Deocha-Pachami project. He said this was a protest for tribal rights and the environment, and the displacement of original forestland inhabitants had to be resisted.
"Today (Wednesday), a few activists engaged in protecting democratic rights went there from Calcutta on a fact-finding mission. The hotel where they had put up was locked from outside since Tuesday night.... This is a direct attack on democracy.... Finally, when they managed to move out of the hotel, they were beaten up by Trinamool (members) and their lackeys. One of them was hospitalised," he said.
The Deocha-Pachami coal mine project caused fresh embarrassment for the TMC and the Mamata Banerjee government on Tuesday after Sagarbandhi village's tribal people, mostly women, took out a protest rally to halt the ongoing basalt mining, raising several charges against the administration. The entire police force and administrative team tried to get work started but could not until Wednesday evening.
"I salute the women of the tribal community and minorities for stalling the project and exposing the chief minister's false claims. Now, the administration and Trinamool Congress leaders are trying to tempt them with offers and even threatening them to lift the protest.... The project on forest land is illegal and environmental clearance was acquired illegally...," Salim added.
Tribal protesters had put up a charka — a stick tied with hay — on the site on Tuesday, signifying that till it is removed, work cannot resume.
"They have agreed to remove the charka," claimed a senior bureaucrat on Wednesday. "We hope basalt mining work resumes on Thursday morning."