The newly-elected MlA of Barkagaon, Nirmala Devi, started her prescheduled agitation against private coal companies, especially against NTPC, from Friday. Wife of ex-Minister Yogendra Sao, who is in jail, came out on the streets wearing a Gandhi cap and a broom in her hand with hundreds of supporters wearing Gandhi caps and hoding the Indian Tricolor high.
Giving it the name Save Barkagaon-Keredari she visited the sites of NTPC Coal Mining Project. At Barwadih and Dhenga sites she and her supporters presented flowers to the contractors and their men and requested to stop the work. On the request of MlA and her supporters the workers stopped working but after their departure work again started at both sites.
Since she had announced about her agitation earlier so on both sites the officials of district and police administration were on alert but the gandhigiri style of agitation initiated by MlA gave them no chance to interfere. Nirmala Devi and her supporters just visited both sites and made humble request to stop the work and then returned. MlA Nirmala Devi said that the eyes of big houses are on the mineral wealth. They want to snatch our land without giving adequate compensation and other facilities. It is a fight of the displaced, for the displaced, by the displaced which will intensify in the days to come.