What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
RAIPUR: Social activist Medha Patkar has to face the anger of the local villagers in Chhattisgarh’s Surguja area. The locals were complaining about the dual attitude of the social workers over the coal mine project, which is important for the development of the villages nearby.
The villagers of Salhi and Parsa, who are supporting the coal mines project in the Surguja area of the state also submitted a memorandum to Patkar asking her to support the coal mines project as it is important for their employment and better facilities for the villages.
The situation arose after Patkar on Wednesday, while travelling from Bilaspur to Surguja, did not stop to meet the villagers sitting in support of the coal mines project in the area. Patkar stopped at Hariharpur where she met the environmental activists.
In their memorandum to Patkar, villagers said that they have given their land for coal mines projects in the past and are dependent on land compensation.
They also said that they are dependent on their employment in coal mining projects, which they fear they will lose due to opposition from some activists and NGOs
In the memorandum, which was signed by over 200 villagers, they said, “Due to the operation of these coal mines, there has been a lot of improvement in the areas of education, health, drinking water, roads, electricity etc. in affected areas.”
They also said that an English medium school is being run in Salhi village under the CBSE syllabus where the children of project-affected villages are taking education. The villagers also said that the construction of a 100-bed hospital is also proposed here. “With the operation of coal mines, thousands of people of the region have got employment and the standard of living of all of us has improved,” the memorandum read.
They rued that at present some outside elements are protesting against the important project in the affected villages in the name of NGOs for their personal interests by tricking the simple people here, which is obstructing the operation of these mines. “Right now the voice of local people is also being suppressed by the costly campaign run by outside elements,” they alleged.
They also highlighted that if the operation of Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RRVUNL) mines are stopped, then thousands of people in the affected areas working in the mine will become unemployed and their source of income will be closed. The people here will have to face serious economic difficulties as well as basic problems like education, health, drinking water and skill development and cooperative work that is being run by RRVUNL, the villagers said.
They said that even empowerment programs will also stop and again they have to migrate to other parts of the country in search of employment.
“Therefore, all the villagers request you to decide about the development of our local area in our own interest without any external pressure. We humbly request you to extend your cooperation in the smooth operation of the coal mining project of RRVUNL,” the villagers demanded to Patkar.
