Barsu oil refinery: Villagers meet Pawar in city, NCP chief dials CM
The delegation – led by Satyajeet Chavan – complained about the state government’s high-handedness against the protestors and said that their concerns and demands are not considered.
Mumbai: As locals continue to resist the proposed oil refinery at Barsu and nearby villages in Ratnagiri, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday had a telephonic conversation with chief minister Eknath Shinde after a delegation of villagers met him in Mumbai.
The delegation – led by Satyajeet Chavan – complained about the state government’s high-handedness against the protestors and said that their concerns and demands are not considered.
Pawar then dialled CM Shine and told him about the unrest and the complaints of the villagers. Hours later, industries minister Uday Samant told reporters that he is going to meet the NCP supremo on Monday.
Last week, Pawar said that they are not against development but want the concerns and demands of the locals to be resolved. He added that the state government should start dialogues with the locals and with other political parties. He made the statement after meeting Samant on Wednesday.
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 to stop the entry of vehicles carrying survey equipment into the village. The conflict between the locals and the government has snowballed into a political controversy, with the opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) supporting the protests and demanding that the survey be stopped immediately.
Later, the police released most of the protestors but the protest restarted after a meeting held between locals and the local administration turned futile on Thursday.