Chhattisgarh: Agitators and police clash during anti-mining protests in Raigarh

At least eight police personnel were injured on Saturday after an ongoing protest against a coal mining project in Tamnar block in Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh district turned violent, PTI reported.

Tensions escalated at the Jindal Coal Handling Plant chowk in Libra village, where villagers had been staging a road blockade and sit-in protest since December 12, The Indian Express reported.

Residents from 14 villages affected by the Gare Pelma Sector-I coal block have been protesting against a public hearing held on December 8 at Dhaurabhatha for the project, the district administration was quoted as saying. The villagers have demanded the cancellation of the proposed mining project, alleging that the public hearing violated prescribed norms.

Police said that the situation deteriorated when personnel attempted to clear the road, following which the crowd swelled and turned violent, the newspaper reported. Stones were thrown at police teams.

“The mob, which grew from 300 to 1,000, went on a rampage,” an unidentified police officer told The Indian Express. “They torched a police bus, a jeep and an ambulance. Several policemen were attacked with sticks and stones.”

Those injured included Sub Divisional Police Officer Anil Vishwakarma, Tamnar police station in-charge Kamla Pusam and a constable, PTI reported.

The protestors later entered the Jindal Coal Handling Plant premises, where a conveyor belt, two tractors and other vehicles were damaged and office property vandalised, PTI reported.

Raigarh District Collector Mayank Chaturvedi told PTI that villagers had been sitting peacefully at the protest site for the past 15 days and that the administration had been ensuring necessary facilities.

“On Saturday at around 2 to 2.30 pm, some anti-social elements provoked protesters,” triggering the clashes, Chaturvedi told PTI.

“Since they didn’t have orders to retaliate, the officers were forced to retreat for their own safety,” The Indian Express quoted the collector as saying.

He said that two hours later, the police made two further attempts to engage in dialogue. During an effort to physically approach the group, the crowd became aggressive again, resumed throwing stones and chased the police team.

Protesters, however, alleged that the situation worsened after police carried out a lathi charge, including against women who were sitting on the road to stop mining-related vehicles.

“One old woman’s hand was injured because a cop pulled her up,” a protestor told The Indian Express. “Later, the crowd swelled up and got out of control.”

In a separate incident on December 4, more than 30 police personnel were injured after residents protesting coal mining in Parsodi Kala village in the state’s Surguja district threw stones at the mining team’s security cover, The Indian Express reported.

The protest was held against South Eastern Coalfields Limited’s 1.0 million tonne per annum opencast mine in Amera.

South Eastern Coalfields Limited is a subsidiary of Coal India Limited.

Police used lathi charges and tear gas to disperse the crowd, and mining operations were halted for the rest of that day.

According to South Eastern Coalfields Limited, the land for the Amera mine had been acquired under the 1957 Coal Bearing (Acquisition and Development) Act, with compensation and rehabilitation benefits paid, but alleged that some landowners, instigated by miscreants, were resisting possession and engaging in violence.

However, residents say they were opposing the loss of agricultural land and livelihoods.

A protestor told The Indian Express: “The soil of our village land is very dear to us and we do not want to give it away. SECL wants to dig it for minerals. Where do we go?”