By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR:The SUCI (Communist) has strongly condemned the house-to-house search operation, blank firing, tear gas application and lathi charge by large police force on Kantapada village to arrest the tribals protesting the road construction of Rayagada Vedanta Company. Through a press release, SUCI (Communist) State Secretary Shankar Dasgupta said that the tribal populated villagers have been protesting for a long time against the fact that the government allowed Vedanta Company to extract bauxite from Sijimali hills in Rayagada, ignoring the interests of the local residents.
Instead of discussing with the agitators and taking any effective steps regarding the their demands, the government has been taking some kind of repressive measures to disrupt the movement. The police have taken various repressive measures such as cordoning off the entire area, keeping surveillance over the entire area with drones and arresting and sending many people and leaders of the movement to jail in many false and fabricated cases. After a confrontation of villagers with police on construction of the road to Sijimali on 6th April police entered the village of Kantamal early yesterday morning to arrest the agitators and conducted a house-to-house search operation with blank firing, tear gas application and batons.
In this attack, many people and many ordinary women were injured. But despite being seriously injured, they are unable to go to the hospital for treatment and are unable to go out to do their business and collect their daily items due to fear of arrest. A situation of fear and terror prevails in the entire region.
Therefore, Mr. Dasgupta demanded to withdraw the police from the area as soon as possible and restore the normal situation in the area. Along with it Mr. Dasgupta further demanded to restore the legitimate right over the land, jungle and natural resources by those they collect their lively hood.
