In a second instance of resistance to the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project in less than a week, activists belonging to the Raj Thackeray-led MNS on Monday disrupted a survey of land being carried out by the authorities near Shilphata in the neighbouring Thane district for the much-discussed dream project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Four days after the affected villagers staged a protest against a survey that was carried being carried in a village in Dhanau tehsil of
Palghar district, the MNS activists —led by the party’s Thane district president Avinash Jadhav — descended on a site in Shil village — where the survey for the bullet train project was going on — and prevented the authorities from continuing with the survey.
Despite the presence of a posse of police personnel that had been stationed to ensure against any untoward incident, the MNS activists created ruckus at the survey and forced the authorities of the proposed Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) project to abandon their work mid-way through.
“We want jobs and not bullet train. We have just stalled a survey for the project now. Henceforth, we will use guerrilla tactics to disrupt attempts to undertake land survey work for the project,” Jadhav warned the officials engaged in the survey work.
The survey work remained suspended for more one and a half hours. However, efforts by the authorities, who were staying put at the survey site, were met with much stiffer resistance from MNS workers.
However, official sources said that unmindful of the efforts by the protesters to stall the survey of land for the project, they would continue with the work. “For the purpose, the police have decided to deploy anti-riot squad and State Reserve Police (SRP) personnel to ensure against untoward incidents in future,” a senior official said.
At a public meeting that he addressed last week at Vasai taluka in Palghar district, MNS president Raj Thackeray exhorted his party workers to oppose the bullet train project vehemently and do everything to prevent the authorities from undertaking the work.a, asked party workers to oppose the Ahmedabad—Mumbai bullet train project and the proposed Mumbai-Vadodara high speed expressway.
“The farmers in this belt should not sell their land for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project as well as for the Mumbai-Vadodara expressway... It is a ploy to purchase land in the name of bullet train and evict Marathi people from their native villages,” Raj had said.
Monday’s protest action by the MNS comes on the heels of a massive protest that the affected villagers belonging to the CPI(M) affiliated All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) at Dahanu in Palghar district last week against the land acquisition for the bullet train project and the Mumbai-Vadodara super highway.
An estimated 15,000 farmers had participated in the protests held on Thursday last.. The protesters alleged that they were being forced to part with their land for the two projects.
The Rs 1,08,000 crore Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project, involving a distance of 508 km, is being built with the assistance of the Japanese Government which is providing a loan to cover 81 per cent of the cost.
The project will in all have 12 halting stations on the bullet train route between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. .Of the 12 stations,four stations – Bandra-Kurla complex, Thane, Boisar and Virar —fall in Maharashtra.