Dibrugarh, Aug 30: Over 2000 people under the banner of Satra Mukti Sangram Samity (SMSS) on Thursday staged a sit-in-protest in Tinsukia’s Margherita against Coal India Limited (CIL) for forcefully designating residential areas as coal dumping ground.
The residents of Jharna Basti, China Basti and Malu village in Ledo staged a massive protest against Coal India Ltd (NEC CIL), raising slogans against the government.
The CIL has decided to set up dumping ground in these areas, which are residential areas and people have been living there for last several years.
“We are living here since 1962, and we are paying tax to the government but now Coal India has decided to set up dumping ground and told us to leave the place. We will not leave our place,” said a protester.
Rahul Chetry, central committee general secretary of SMSS, said, “When CIL shut down their operation, the local people protested and request the CIL restart their operation in area. Now, CIL has decided to set up dumping ground. We would not let this happen and if necessary, we will organise massive agitation. The people are living here since 1938 and the land belongs to the people then why they will go from here?”
“The government has been allotting several bighas of land to the capitalists and people like Baba Ramdev but the indigenous people living in this area since several years and now CIL has been trying to evict the people for setting up of a coal dumping ground but the government is mum. The local MLA Bhaskar Sharma has been mum saying nothing. We warned CIL that we wouldn’t let the people evict from their home and if necessary, we would intensify our movement in democratic way,” said Pappu Dutta, president of SMSS central committee.
The villagers, particularly those from Jharna Basti, fear the environmental damage could push their communities “to the brink of extinction”.
Coal India Ltd requires extensive dumping grounds to dispose the debris unearthed during coal mining.
However, this practice has reportedly led to the destruction of tea gardens and lush greenery that once characterized the area.
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