Section 144 in Barsu, Solgaon villages ahead of survey on refinery project

Dhananjay Kulkarni, superintendent of Ratnagiri Police, confirmed that Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code has been imposed in the area and police have arrested four persons, including activists Satyajeet Chavan and Mangesh Chavan, who have been opposing the refinery project.

“In order to ensure that there is no untoward incident during the survey, we have issued preventive notices to around 45 people and have placed four people under arrest,” Kulkarni told The Indian Express.

Police have imposed restrictions on the movement of local residents in the 1-km radius area of the spot where the survey is going to be conducted.

According to villagers, heavy police deployment has been made in the area and despite opposition from villagers, the survey will be conducted using police force. “The administration has also prohibited public movement and gathering within a 1-km radius of the drilling site at Barsu Sada, Barsu, Panhale Tarfe Rajapur, Dhopeshwar, Goval, and Khalchi Wadi Goval from April 22 to May 1, invoking Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code,” said a local resident.

The Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, promoted by the three major public sector oil companies — Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd — was originally planned in Nanar village of Ratnagiri district.

The Shiv Sena had earlier opposed the project, citing protests by local residents, after which Barsu-Solgaon area was finalised as the location. However, local environmental activists and residents have been protesting the refinery project in the Konkan region, as they fear pollution and damage to the region, which is largely dependent on agriculture and famous for cultivation of Alphonso mangoes.