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Violence erupted in Chhattisgarh’s Hasdeo forest on Thursday as local residents tried to stop authorities from felling trees and the police pushed back. Several protesters and 13 police personnel were injured. The deputy collector and a Revenue employee also suffered minor injuries.
The tree-felling was to be carried out near Fatehpur and Sali villages of Surguja district as part of Parsa coal block mining project that was awarded to the Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RRVUNL). While Forest officials refused to comment on the issue, government sources said that around 5,000 trees have to be felled in the vicinity of six villages.
The residents of these villages gathered at the site of the proposed tree-felling from Wednesday night in a bid to stop authorities from carrying out the action. This led to around 400 police and Forest Department personnel being deployed at the spot.
Police said the locals were armed with wooden sticks, arrows and axes.
Surguja Superintendent of Police Yogesh Patel denied allegations that the violence started after police lathi-charged protesters. “The villagers got violent and attacked us. To stop and disperse them, we responded appropriately,” he said.
One of the policemen, constable Bholaram Rajwade, suffered a deep injury on his leg after being struck by an arrow. He was taken to Raipur for treatment.
“Our force is present at the site, but tree-cutting has been stopped,” the SP said.
Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, took aim at the BJP government in Chhattisgarh over the incident. “The attempt to forcibly embezzle the forest and land of the tribals through violent use of police force in Hasdeo Aranya is a violation of the fundamental rights of the tribals. During the Congress government in Chhattisgarh, a resolution was unanimously passed in the Assembly not to cut the Hasdeo forest – ‘unanimous’ means the combined consent of the opposition, i.e. the BJP too. But, as soon as they came into government, they neither remembered this proposal nor the plight and rights of these original inhabitants of Hasdeo,” he wrote on X.
AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also came out in support of the protesting local residents: “The tribals, who have been the owners of the forests for centuries, are being evicted so that Adani ji’s mines can operate.”
Senior BJP leader Sanjay Shrivastav told The Indian Express that the government will only move forward with the people’s consent. “The BJP government’s stand is very clear. The people there must get proper provisions so that they do not face any kind of losses. The government will give attention to this.”
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