JAGATSINGHPUR: Hundreds of villagers of Dhinkia panchayat, including women, took out a rally on Sunday and protested against what they called two-decade long exploitation and oppression of the region for industrialization drive of the government.
The protesting villagers have sought intervention of Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for protection of their rights and justice. Dhinkia was epicentre of the protest that stalled the mega steel plant project of Posco. JSW is currently planning its project in the same region and has run into the local agitation.
Dhinkia was in news recently due to agitation in connection with Mahala and Patana under the panchayat being bifurcated into revenue villages by the State government. Villagers said, tension has prevailed in Dhinkia after the bifurcation plan because people are not interested while administration has resorted to divide-and-rule by creating new revenue villages. When villagers demonstrated and detained officials, police lodged false cases against them, the agitators said.
Even after their stir against Posco and JSW steel projects, the State government has not been able to implement the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 for the villagers who are living in those areas for centuries and in possession of documentary evidence in favour of existence of tribals and other traditional forest dwellers.
Dhinkia panchayat, located near the oil refinery of IOCL, has been severely affected due to air, water, sound and soil pollution, the locals said and alleged that not a single person from displaced families or land losers has yet got any employment in IOCL. They demanded immediate employment to displaced and land loser families.
The demonstrators also demanded that laying of pipeline to IOCL for the proposed Paradip- Hyderabad Petroleum Product Pipeline (PHPL) on grazing land (gochar) be stopped. As per Odisha Government Land Settlement Act 1962, there is provision of de-reservation of gochar land. Under this act, it is mentioned that no government land recorded as ‘gochar’ shall be reserved for any purpose or settled without being deserved in accordance with provisions contained in section 3 of this Act, they added.
During the agitation against Posco which led to violence, false cases were slapped against hundreds of people and all these cases should be withdrawn to bring peace in this village, they said and urged the CM to intervene.