Demanding immediate release of the forest rights activist, Bechanlal Shah, civil society members staged a sit-in protest outside the Collector’s office in Waidhan, Singrauli, on Monday.
The unjust and step-motherly treatment meted out to the activists by Singrauli’s administration and police is totally unacceptable, declared members of the civil society, who joined the van satyagrahis of Mahan for a peaceful protest at the dharna spot.
Condemning the ruthless manner in which the local police arrested four forest rights activists of Greenpeace and Mahan Sangharsh Samiti (MSS) two weeks ago, the civil society members said that the police cannot get away with this kind of high-handed attitude. They demanded that the police should set Bechanlal Shah free. Shah, a member of MSS and resident of Amelia village, was one of the four activists, who were jailed for trying to save Mahan forests. The other three were given bail.
Besides, they also demanded that the police should file a case against the forged Gram Sabha Resolution, based on which the stage II forest clearance was granted to Mahan coal block allocated to Essar Power and Hindalco Industries in February this year.
Vijay Shankar Singh, an active MSS member from Amelia village who was one among the jailed, said, “These tactics of falsely implicating us in cases does not scare us or deter us from continuing our fight. Such attacks make us only more determined to fight for our rights. We demand that Bechanlal be released immediately and the FIR on the Gram Sabha forgery case be lodged.”
While a group of activists stayed back in the forests, guarding it against any kind of mining activity, villagers travelled to Waidhan to knock at the doors of the local administrators.
The peaceful dharna saw the participation of organisations such as Mayur Sanghatan, Kisan Aadivasi Visthapit Ekta Manch, Sarvhit Seva Sansthan, Amrita Seva Sansthan and Suvidha Seva Sansthan. These organisations united against the police excesses that have been going on in Singrauli for a long time now.