Kalinga Nagar tribals want a clear picture from GovtKalinga Nagar
Sunday, January 7, 2007
Forget the MoUs that are lined up for implementation, the long-term survival of the existing units looks threatened.
The State Government’s dream run to build India’s steel hub in Kalinga Nagar in Jajpur district, it seems, is on the throes of complete derailment with the tribals powered by “outside” forces holding ransom to the activities of the existing industrial units. Call it the longest economic blockade in the country’s industrial history or a seemingly endless fight for tribal rights, the loss is unprecedented. The January 2, 2006 incident in which 13 tribals fell to police bullets has virtually changed the course of the industrial momentum that had gained ground over the years. And, as victims’ families and vested interests continue to observe first anniversary of the bloody incident, the atmosphere in this proposed steel hub is completely hostile. Forget the MoUs that are lined up for implementation, the long-term survival of the existing units looks threatened.
If Jagannath Mandal (47) of Duburi is to be believed, everyone - from ruling politicians to Opposition leaders, from NGOs to local tribal leaders and from district administration officials to interested industrial houses - is playing “who will bell the cat” game. Kalinga Nagar is a risky game, so no one really wants to offer a solution or at least work towards it. The 365-day-long road blockade is enough proof of a sterile administration and an indifferent political class. Mandal was a member of the Bistapana Birodhi Manch (forum against displacement).
Mandal, of late, has realized that industry can bring prosperity, but what irks him is why the administration is dithering on the issue of rehabilitation and resettlement. It all happened for the Tatas, but the company authorities have simply disappeared post-Kalinga Nagar. Senior officials and politicians are mute. Even Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is sitting with fingers crossed. No one in the past so many days and months has come forward to initiate a constructive talk with the agitating tribals. As if initiating talks is a risky game.
Surama (29), who lost one of her family members in the police firing, is utterly confused about the whole situation - whether the Tatas are serious about the project, whether the State Government really wants Tatas to come up with the plant and whether the land allotted to Tatas would be given to someone else. Locals are tired of agitating, and the administration complacent. The Government, it seems, is unwilling to disturb the status quo.
This has encouraged outside forces (read radicals and ultras affiliated to the CPI Maoist) to take advantage of the situation. Jajpur superintendent of police Asheet Panigrahi admits that large number of CPI (ML) activists from West Bengal, Jharkhand and Chhatisgarh have infiltrated into Kalinga Nagar and Duburi. These men are busy fuelling hatred while the villagers with no clear picture are falling easy prey to these outside forces. Tuesday’s Kalinga Nagar anniversary rally by 5000-odd men and women is a pointer to this.
The volatile situation must end. But, the question is who will, and when.
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Labels: Kalinga Nagar, News, Orissa
posted by Bimal 1/07/2007 09:24:00 PM,
