Mamata Banerjee faced the first land unrest in her six years of rule in West Bengal, when farmers of Bhangar in South 24 Parganas forcibly halted a power project by taking out massive protests on Tuesday.
Two villagers were killed after police allegedly opened fire at the protestors. One of the deceased was identified as Alamgir Hossain (40), while the identity of the other victim, who succumbed to his injuries at a nearby hospital is not immediately known.
The government, however, ruled out police firing, while the Intelligence has given report alleging Maoists' role in the protests.
The chief minister had to ask her power minister, Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, to write to the power corporation to halt work.
About 23 acres of land were acquired from Kashipur area of Bhangar a few months back, in order to set up a big power-grid. For that, construction works were also being carried out. But a week before, villagers decided to form an anti-land acquisition organisation and gave government the ultimatum of not to carry out the work.
When the state government did not listen to them and dispatched police, the villages in the area erupted in anger. They blocked the road and attacked the workers with lathis.
On Monday, they pushed the power corporation workers out of the village. Police arrested Kalu Seikh, leader of the save farm land committee, which further enraged the protestors.
They pelted stones at the police personnel and police had to resort to lathi charge and tear gas to disperse the mob. The entire area looked like a war zone, with stones coming from both sides. Many villagers and policemen were injured.
Senior minister Abdur Rezzak Mollah was prevented from entering the village by protestors. The former communist minister, who was a strong critic of left front’s industrial drive by acquiring farm land, is an MLA from Bhangar and a cabinet minister in Mamata’s government.
The village is largely inhabited by Muslim community and when the chief minister heard about the violent protests, she ordered police to exercise restraint. Mamata also asked Chattopadhyay to start dialogue with the villagers to continue with the work.
“How could we stop agitation after the police beat us up and arrested our leaders. We will not accept that. This government is also becoming like the previous governments — full of land sharks,” said Saiful Mollah, a leader of the save farmland committee.
Chattopadhyay told THE WEEK, “Outsiders have gathered in the village and they are inciting them. But I have asked grid workers to stop work through a letter.”
Asked about his reaction, minister Mollah said, “The government decided that only the power minister would talk about this. But, principally, I am opposed to farm land being taken away.”
This is the first land agitation Mamata is facing in West Bengal since she came to power in 2011, fighting the land acquisition of left front government in Singur and Nandigram.
