Spurred by Bhangar, focus on other land issues

Similar protests have begun at Andal in Burdwan district, where the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC), the nodal body for promoting industry, has acquired land for setting up an airport and a township. “The protests have been triggered by certain elements attempting to increase their political relevance by using the Bhangar case. We are in talks with the villagers and the matter is now resolved,” said a district administration official. Similar protests have begun, though on a much smaller scale, in different parts of Rajarhat as well. The WBIDC has acquired several thousand acres for setting up a few industrial parks in Kharagpore, Raghunathpur, Naihati, Uluberia, Sankrail, Panagarh, Barjora among others as well, where different companies are supposed to invest.

Meanwhile, protests initiated by the CPI-ML Red Star over the violence at Bhangar continued on the streets of Kolkata on Tuesday. Members of the party, who the police have been looking to arrest, didn’t attend the agitation which was, nonetheless, a serious declaration of intent from a fringe outfit that had suddenly become extremely relevant. With support from the Left, the protesters demanded “justice”, rejecting the compensation given to the family of the two youths who died in the violence.

The trajectory of these protests is all too familiar for the Mamata Banerjee government. “The issue with Singur and now Bhangar is that a number of people feel disenfranchised. Others feel that they can get more money. Some are trying to gain political benefit from the protests.

They will be dealt with,” said a senior official of Nabanna, the state secretariat.

But this might not be an easy task, admit officials. For instance, at the agitation in Birbhum on Monday, a 100-odd protesters were able to repel police forces, using iron rods and kerosene. They even demolished a partly constructed wall. “We have written to the district magistrate to return the plots, but the chief minister has announced a university here and the rest will be residential flats. We won’t get jobs out of it. We want industry,” said Sheikh Mujibur, one of the land-losers here. “If projects can be stalled at Bhangar, why not here?” he asked.

A senior TMC leader said, “The protests from Bhangar are being fanned by the Left and certain Maoist leaders. With the 2018 panchayat polls in mind, the opposition is flocking together to make these land protests an issue again.”