Injured members of Mahila Mandal Seeks Justice

To                                                             Date: 15^th July 2011

The Chairperson                                                                           

Orissa Human Rights Commission

Toshali Plaza, Satya Nagar

Bhubaneswar

Sub: Complaint against the Perpetrators for severely torture to the anti-land acquisition members of Mahila Mandal in Angul district .

Hon’ble Sir,

Members of Mahila Mandal at OHRC

We the members of Mahila Mandal of Raijharan Gram Panchayat of Chendipada Block in Anugul district , Orissa beg to draw your kind attention that on 12^th of July 2011, about 12 noon, the company officials of Jindal Steel & Power Limited[JSPL] and Monnet Power entered into the villages of   Raijharan Gram Panchayat for a public meeting regarding acquiring lands for their projects which irate the villagers and held them saying to call the district administration particularly the collector to answer of their long pending demands.

Around 7 P.M. about 300-400 armed policemen under the leadership of Anugul SDPO, Tahasildar and Nisha Silpanchal police In-charge Mr Subhanarayan Muduli entered  the place of Bhagbat temple in Raijharan village and made unwarranted lathi charged against the  women and villagers of where more than 40 persons including women were seriously injured. A bullet had entered into the leg of Sanjay Barik a 25 years old youth. Without giving prior intimation to leave the place, the police started the operation indiscriminately. They had used abusive languages against the women and became violent against the people.

 Around 12 o.clock at night, the police again entered into the said villages and targeted members of Mahila Mandal. They picked up the women from their home and started abusing in slang languages and beaten them up there. They had also threatened the villagers to face the dire consequences if they will protest against the companies in future.  Due to this inhuman attack, the private parts of the women members are seriously injured. The police completely sieged the connecting roads as a result the villagers couldn’t able to access the nearby hospitals for getting immediate treatments.

The companies like Jindal Steel & Power Limited, Monnet Power, Utkal Coal Limited [UCL] a subsidiary of IMFA and KCM are planning to acquire of our entire land to extract coal mines. This proposed project will directly displace the villages of Raijharan, Golagadia,Dhobamadhia and Kaunsidhip affecting the populations of more than 7 thousand and indirectly affected more than 20 thousand people of nearby villages. From last year onwards, these villagers have been continuously resisting against the land acquisition process in fear of loosing their land and livelihoods. The villagers are continuously demanding to hold talks with the governments, Instead of holding discussions, the company officials are entering into the villages to woo them by offering attractive false promises. This has raised the anger and anxieties among the people. On 12^th of July 2011, when the company officers entered into the   villages, the people urged these officials with a demand to have dialogue with the government officials in their presence. This things raised anger among the official as their ill intention about illegally acquiring land will be comes to know publicly.

At this juncture we appeal the commissions’ intervention in the present issue urgently to protect the civil and democratic rights of ours with following demands …

1.     Urgent Intervene and impartially investigate the incident.

2.     Exemplary punishment against the culprit officials who had disrespected and neglected their duties

3.     Withdrawal of false cases against the villagers.

4.     Immediate order for medical treatment of the injured 

5.     Immediate withdrawal of police officials from the area.

6.     Scrap the proposed land acquisition process by the companies.

        Your’s Faithfully

Mrs Draupadi Sahoo,[President, Mahila Mandal]

At/Po- Raijharan, Dist- Anugul, Orissa

Mrs Padmini Sahoo

Mrs Maharagi Dehuri

Mrs Sumati Sahoo

Mrs Pravati Nayak

Mrs Urbashi Sahoo

                       

Many Arrested for Anti-Posco Stir

Rabi Ray,Ex Speaker addressing

 Hundreds of anti-Posco activists arrested on Friday in Bhubaneswar when they were marching towards the chief minister’s residence, demanding scarping of the proposed mega steel project immediately by the Orissa Govt.

Marching towards CM Residence

The two days Satyagraha ends with the arrest where twenty five leading people’s movement forum and civil society organization of the country took part to show their solidarity for the affected villagers of the proposed project.

Civil Disobedience

Eminent Gandhian and the National Convenor of Azadi Bachao Andolan, Prof Banwarilal Sharma vehemently criticized the State govt. saying the govt. is violating its own law. He further said there is a law in the country that no project will come up within 5km as per the Coastal Regulatory Zone [CRZ] laws but in case of Posco project its completely ignored. The South Korean company aims to recover its whole investment of Rs 52 thousand crores within 8 years where remaining 22 years left to exploit the iron ore from the State @1.5 billion per year.

Krishna Mohanty,Manoj Jena in police van

Mr Rabi Ray, the former speaker of Lok Sabha recalled his first protest in proposed project area in the year 2005 along with eminent sarvodaya leader late Manmohan Choudhry. If the Naveen govt. will continue for another couple of years, all the natural minerals will be finished soon, he cautioned.

The demands include withdrawal of police from the project area, repeal of 1894 Land Acquisition Act, respect the Forest Rights Act 2006, follow the recommendations of Saxena and Meena Gupta Committee appointed by the Union Ministry of Forest and Environment and scrap the MOU of captive mines and private port for the company.

The leaders and forum who actively participate and support the cause were Amarnath Bhai, Ex president Sarva Seva Sangh, Kumar Prashant, Rastriya Yuva Sanghthan, Mumbai, Bibekananda Mathen, Jana Sansad,Wardha, Prafula Samantara, Lok Shakti Abhiyan, Krishna Mohanty, Bajirout Chatrabas, Narayan Das,president, Utkal Sarvodaya Mandal,Rabi Das,Odisha Jana Samilani, Prerana Desai, Mumbai, Yamini, Wardha, Mithilesh Dangi,Chatisgarh, Lingaraj Azad, Niyamgiri Surakshya Samiti, Khetramohan Mahant, Bistapita Mukti Bahini, Prashant Paikray,spokesperson PPSS etc.

The program convened and coordinated by Dr Biswajit, Rastriya Yuva Sanghathan Manoj Jena of Odisha Nagarik Samaj and Nishikant, Orissa Soochana Adhikar Manch.

Satyagraha Against Focefully Land Aquisition in Posco Project

Ekta Parishad and several civil society organisations of Odisha including Odisha Nagarik Samaj[ONAS] Odisha Janasameelani, Lok Shakti Abhiyan ,Gandhamadan Yuva Parishad etc. staged a weeklong Satyagraha against illegal land encroachment and atrocities on anti-posco villagers of  the proposed South Korean Posco project in Jagatsinghpur district of Odisha.

The Dharana started from 17^th June 2011 at Mahatma Gandhi Marg, Bhubaneswar and culminated on 22^nd June 2011, the day in which the MOU was signed between the Odisha Govt. and POSCO has been completed six years.

 Mr P.V.Rajagopal, eminent Gandhian, member of National Land Reform Council and President of Ekta Parishad addressed the public including media after visiting the proposed project site. In his speech he vehemently opposed the illegal land acquiring process by the Odisha Govt. and told the movement against the proposed project by villager is purely non-violent means but the district administration and police is continuously oppressing on the people who are denouncing to hand over their land to the South Korean Steel Plant. The govt. is violating its own forest rights laws; he suggested the Odisha govt. the land acquisition should be stopped and cancel the MOU immediately. Answering a question of media person about the involvement of children in the protest, he clarified no violation of child rights if the children protest with their parents to save their livelihood. It’s a kind of new training for them to save their livelihood by restoring their land, cited few examples how children were participated in the freedom struggle.

The enigma of allowing private port, captive mines and SEZ for a foreign company like POSCO needs to be disclosed publicly by the State Govt. where no single instances has seen in case of any nationalized steel ventures questioned Manoj Jena, a well known human rights activist of Odisha.

An action plans were suggested to continue the satyagraha in various ways by involving the affected people, rights activists, civil society members, taking the issue in different levels and platforms.

Among others who participated and spoke in each day are Swami Agnivesh, Prof Banwarilal Sharma of Azadi Bacho Andolan, Amarnath Bhai, former president Sarva Seva Sangh, Jatish Bhai,Mumbai, Prafula Samntara,convenor of Lok Shakti Abhiyan, Rabi Das, president, Odisha Janasameelani, Er Lalitmohan Pattnaik of Odisha Nagarik Samaj, Umaballav Rath, leader of Vedant Viswavidyala Sangharsh Samiti.The entire dharana was well managed by Bijay Pradhan,the state convenor of Ekta Parishad and  Sneha Mohanty, Kanhu Bhai, Basant Bhai, Lenka Bhai, Dolli Apa, Nihar Bhai, Sandeep Mohanty.