Odisha village turns battlefield as locals oppose fertilizer company

Tension ran high at Chamakhandi village in Ganjam district after clashes ensued between locals and cops on Wednesday over the construction of a boundary wall by a fertilizer company.  The village turned into a battleground as cops charged at the villagers while the latter retaliated back.

According to sources, Deepak Fertilizers has been constructing a boundary wall in a land reportedly owned by Tata. Locals opposed the move and called for the construction work to be stopped immediately. Today their protests escalated into a clash with the police personnel deployed in the area. 

A few women of the village allegedly broke the police barricade and police have reportedly detained at least 20 villagers after the incident.

Anticipating more violence, at least 21 platoons of police have been deployed in the village. Meanwhile, irate locals continued the protest and demanded immediate release of the detainees. They threatened to intensify the agitation if their fellow villagers are not released.

On the other hand, police tried to pacify the angry villagers and settle the matter amicably.

“There is no rule to make that boundary wall. Our demand is to immediately stop the boundary wall construction work. We are protesting, sitting on strike. The police have illegally detained our people. Our protest will continue till they are not released,” said a villager.

However, additional SP, Ganjam, KC Dalei refuted the allegations and said, “Deepak Fertilizers is not undertaking any work. The land belongs to Tata and they are constructing the boundary wall. Due to the ongoing construction, we had deployed police personnel anticipating law and order situation. However, a few residents of Kalipalli defied police orders and illegally tried to stop the construction work.”

 

(Reported by Ashok Brahma, OTV)