Six farmers killed in West Bengal clash over SEZ land acquisition, opposition claims 10
By IANS
Sunday January 7, 02:18 PM
Kolkata/Nandigram, Jan 7 (IANS) Two people were killed and two seriously injured in overnight clashes between farmers resisting land acquisition and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) activists in West Bengal's Nandigram, though the opposition Sunday claimed 10 deaths and called for a 24-hour statewide shutdown Monday.
The constituency in East Midnapore district turned into a combat zone Sunday as villagers blew conch shells and moved with swords, sickles and staves sounding a bugle of war against the CPI-M and the state administration against the move to acquire land for industrialisation, with a chemical hub and a SEZ (Special Economic Zone) with Indonesia's Salim group in the pipeline.
East Midnapore district magistrate Anup Agarwal told IANS: 'Two people have been killed and two are seriously injured in the violence.'
However, Manas Bhuiyan of the opposition Congress told reporters that 10 people were killed in Nandigram.
Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, in the eye of a storm over his move to push forward industrialisation in the state, said Sunday that the shutdowns and violence would send a wrong signal to investors. Addressing a function at the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, the chief minister said he was assessing the situation.
Among the farmers killed is Bharat Mandal, 28, who locals alleged was shot dead by CPI-M men. Bengali news channels Kolkata TV claimed deaths of six people so far - it identified the others as Bishwajit Maity, Bishnu Maity, Sheikh Selim, Shankar Samanta and Bhudeb Mandal.
Bodies of the dead and the injured are pouring into the village hospital, the channel said.
Many CPI-M men also had to flee their homes and live in camps after the flare-up.
The Congress called a 24-hour Bengal shutdown Monday soon after Trinamool Congress gave a 12-hour call. Nandigram is observing a shutdown Sunday over the killings.
Socialist United Centre of India (SUCI), a left opposition, also gave a separate shutdown call.
Villagers in Nandigram claimed that the ruling party men had raided the village in police uniform and unleashed the nightlong violence.
TV footage showed a bullet-riddled Bharat Mandal, a member of the newly-formed Bhumi Ucched Pratirodh Committee (Committee to Resist Eviction from Land), collapsing. He was taken to a medical facility in a rickshaw van but died early Sunday.
'The CPI-M men raided us in police fatigues and killed him,' villagers alleged.
'Bharat has two daughters and a son. I don't know what would happen to his family,' the brother of Bharat Mandal said.
Local journalists claimed the attack was organised by the CPI-M men who started throwing bombs from across the river at Khejuri towards Nandigram's border villages like Sonachura.
The Rapid Action Force (RAF) was deployed in Nandigram after the violence even as Left Front leaders demanded an immediate meeting of the Front to discuss the situation.
However, police till late Sunday morning could not enter the disputed territory.
At least 22 mass organisations Saturday formed a body to prevent any attempt by the West Bengal government to acquire land for a chemical hub and a special economic zone (SEZ) in Nandigram that saw violent protests against the proposal this week.
The Bhumi Ucched Pratirodh Committee (Committee to Resist Eviction from Land) was formed to prevent any move to acquire land for a major industrial project by the Salim group of Indonesia and the state government even as CPI-M activists flexed their muscles and drew a battle line with the angry farmers and residents.
'We will not give any land for industrialisation here at any cost or price. We will teach the government a lesson if they use force,' said a representative of the new body.
CPI-M leader and the party's central committee member Binoy Konar drew the battle lines Saturday when he said: 'We will not sit silent in Nandigram. We will hit back if they adopt violent means. We will make life hell for them (protestors). We will surround Nandigram.'
Nandigram, about 150 km from Kolkata, is a minority dominated area in East Midnapore district and considered a Left Front citadel.
On Wednesday, police had to fire several rounds to quell frenzied villagers who set a police jeep on fire, heavily injured cops, blocked roads with boulders and demolished a bridge to prevent police access to their areas after word of a land acquisition notification spread.
The situation has remained explosive since then, prompting Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and the CPI-M to go on the back foot even as the Left Front constituent Communist Party of India (CPI) criticised the former for its land acquisition policies.
The Nandigram assembly seat is held by the CPI while the Haldia Lok Sabha seat belongs to the CPI-M.
In East Midnapore, the government reportedly is eyeing over 22,000 acres of land for industrial projects.
On July 31, the state government signed an agreement with the Salim Group to implement various developmental projects, including a mega chemical industrial estate, to be spread over 10,000 acres in a 50:50 joint venture.
Construction of a four-lane road bridge over the Haldi river, from Haldia to Nandigram, has also been planned. The bridge would provide a link between Haldia and the proposed chemicals SEZ in Nandigram.
Sunday January 7, 02:18 PM
Kolkata/Nandigram, Jan 7 (IANS) Two people were killed and two seriously injured in overnight clashes between farmers resisting land acquisition and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) activists in West Bengal's Nandigram, though the opposition Sunday claimed 10 deaths and called for a 24-hour statewide shutdown Monday.
The constituency in East Midnapore district turned into a combat zone Sunday as villagers blew conch shells and moved with swords, sickles and staves sounding a bugle of war against the CPI-M and the state administration against the move to acquire land for industrialisation, with a chemical hub and a SEZ (Special Economic Zone) with Indonesia's Salim group in the pipeline.
East Midnapore district magistrate Anup Agarwal told IANS: 'Two people have been killed and two are seriously injured in the violence.'
However, Manas Bhuiyan of the opposition Congress told reporters that 10 people were killed in Nandigram.
Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, in the eye of a storm over his move to push forward industrialisation in the state, said Sunday that the shutdowns and violence would send a wrong signal to investors. Addressing a function at the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, the chief minister said he was assessing the situation.
Among the farmers killed is Bharat Mandal, 28, who locals alleged was shot dead by CPI-M men. Bengali news channels Kolkata TV claimed deaths of six people so far - it identified the others as Bishwajit Maity, Bishnu Maity, Sheikh Selim, Shankar Samanta and Bhudeb Mandal.
Bodies of the dead and the injured are pouring into the village hospital, the channel said.
Many CPI-M men also had to flee their homes and live in camps after the flare-up.
The Congress called a 24-hour Bengal shutdown Monday soon after Trinamool Congress gave a 12-hour call. Nandigram is observing a shutdown Sunday over the killings.
Socialist United Centre of India (SUCI), a left opposition, also gave a separate shutdown call.
Villagers in Nandigram claimed that the ruling party men had raided the village in police uniform and unleashed the nightlong violence.
TV footage showed a bullet-riddled Bharat Mandal, a member of the newly-formed Bhumi Ucched Pratirodh Committee (Committee to Resist Eviction from Land), collapsing. He was taken to a medical facility in a rickshaw van but died early Sunday.
'The CPI-M men raided us in police fatigues and killed him,' villagers alleged.
'Bharat has two daughters and a son. I don't know what would happen to his family,' the brother of Bharat Mandal said.
Local journalists claimed the attack was organised by the CPI-M men who started throwing bombs from across the river at Khejuri towards Nandigram's border villages like Sonachura.
The Rapid Action Force (RAF) was deployed in Nandigram after the violence even as Left Front leaders demanded an immediate meeting of the Front to discuss the situation.
However, police till late Sunday morning could not enter the disputed territory.
At least 22 mass organisations Saturday formed a body to prevent any attempt by the West Bengal government to acquire land for a chemical hub and a special economic zone (SEZ) in Nandigram that saw violent protests against the proposal this week.
The Bhumi Ucched Pratirodh Committee (Committee to Resist Eviction from Land) was formed to prevent any move to acquire land for a major industrial project by the Salim group of Indonesia and the state government even as CPI-M activists flexed their muscles and drew a battle line with the angry farmers and residents.
'We will not give any land for industrialisation here at any cost or price. We will teach the government a lesson if they use force,' said a representative of the new body.
CPI-M leader and the party's central committee member Binoy Konar drew the battle lines Saturday when he said: 'We will not sit silent in Nandigram. We will hit back if they adopt violent means. We will make life hell for them (protestors). We will surround Nandigram.'
Nandigram, about 150 km from Kolkata, is a minority dominated area in East Midnapore district and considered a Left Front citadel.
On Wednesday, police had to fire several rounds to quell frenzied villagers who set a police jeep on fire, heavily injured cops, blocked roads with boulders and demolished a bridge to prevent police access to their areas after word of a land acquisition notification spread.
The situation has remained explosive since then, prompting Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and the CPI-M to go on the back foot even as the Left Front constituent Communist Party of India (CPI) criticised the former for its land acquisition policies.
The Nandigram assembly seat is held by the CPI while the Haldia Lok Sabha seat belongs to the CPI-M.
In East Midnapore, the government reportedly is eyeing over 22,000 acres of land for industrial projects.
On July 31, the state government signed an agreement with the Salim Group to implement various developmental projects, including a mega chemical industrial estate, to be spread over 10,000 acres in a 50:50 joint venture.
Construction of a four-lane road bridge over the Haldi river, from Haldia to Nandigram, has also been planned. The bridge would provide a link between Haldia and the proposed chemicals SEZ in Nandigram.
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