Protests, political row over acquisition of refinery land

Barsu and nearby villages in Ratnagiri district on Tuesday witnessed stringent police action against local protestors opposing a soil survey for an oil refinery project. The police detained more than a hundred women who were lying down on the roads in order to stop the entry of vehicles carrying survey equipment into the village

Mumbai: Barsu and nearby villages in Ratnagiri district on Tuesday witnessed stringent police action against local protestors opposing a soil survey for an oil refinery project. The police detained more than a hundred women who were lying down on the roads in order to stop the entry of vehicles carrying survey equipment into the village.

Ratnagiri, India - April 25, 2023: Villagers of Barsu and Solgaon of Rajapur taluka in Ratnagiri district of Konkan region stage a protest against the upcoming oil refinery project, in Ratnagiri, India, on Tuesday, April 25, 2023. (HT Photo) (Hindustan Times)

The conflict between the locals and the government has snowballed into a political controversy, with the opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi supporting the protests and demanding that the survey be stopped immediately. Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and industries minister Uday Samant, in retaliation, pointed out that Uddhav Thackeray himself had suggested the site to the Centre during his tenure as chief minister when protests against the original site of Nanar erupted a few years ago.

The conflict between the police and residents of Barsu and nearby villages continued for the whole of Tuesday, with the detained protestors being sent to undisclosed places in ST buses and other vehicles. Earlier on Saturday, the police and administration had conducted a meeting of locals and warned them of strict action if they did not cooperate in the survey.

“All five gram panchayats—Goval, Shivne, Devache Gothane, Solgaon and Barsu-Dhopeshwar—have passed a resolution against the oil refinery project in their gram sabhas,” said Narendra Joshi, general secretary of the Sangharsh Samiti. “The government is still pushing for the project against the will of the local people and have issued externment notices to 45 activists and locals till now. Today, the police detained hundreds of women and even lathi-charged protestors. But we will not succumb to oppression.”

Sachin Chavan, a chartered accountant and activist, alleged police brutality against the protestors. “The police have arrested hundreds but they are not disclosing their whereabouts and not telling us in which court they will be produced,” he said. “The government, through its local administration, is using harassment tactics so that the protestors don’t get legal aid on time.” Dhananjay Kulkarni, superintendent of police, Ratnagiri, when questioned, said that 111 protestors had been arrested under Sections 143, 147, 149, 188, 341 of CrPC and 37(13) of the Maharashtra Police Act and would be produced at Rajapur court.

Opposition parties hit out at the Shinde-Fadnavis government over the police action. Leader of the opposition Ajit Pawar demanded that the survey be stopped immediately. “Don’t use police force to conduct surveys,” he said. “Senior ministers of the cabinet should hold discussions with the protesters and find a way out. Women and children are protesting. There is a heat wave in the state. We have already lost some people in the Kharghar incident. The government should take care that this is not repeated in Konkan.”

Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole warned the Shinde-Fadnavis government against oppressing demonstrators. “The Congress strongly protests this police oppression at Barsu,” he said. “Imposing projects without taking the locals into confidence is dictatorship and will not be tolerated.”

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said that his party stood with the local people and could go to Barsu in the coming days to demonstrate solidarity. Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray demanded that the police action and survey be stopped and the government initiate dialogue with the locals.

However, industries minister Uday Samant, who is also the guardian minister of Ratnagiri, pointed out that the Barsu site was proposed to the Centre by Uddhav Thackeray during his tenure as chief minister. “Now they are pretending that they stand with locals,” he said. “If the opposition parties want to stop the survey, they should hold a joint press conference and declare that they do not want the refinery project.”

Fadnavis, who is on an election campaign tour in Karnataka, raised the question of the opposition’s motives in a counter-attack, calling it “contract opposition”. “First they opposed the Aarey car shed, then the Samruddhi expressway, the port and now the refinery,” he said. “On whose behalf is this opposition being conducted? Whose “contract” is this? We will talk to the locals who are protesting peacefully. But I will not tolerate those who are opposing the project out of political motivation.”