Law Kumar Mishra
Patna, January 11
The 85 days old protest of farmers of Chausa block in Buxar on Bihar-UP border,140 km west from here, against an upcoming power plant turned violent on Wednesday even as authorities struggled hard to bring the situation under control.
The irked protesters thrashed policemen, torched 13 vehicles, set on fire ambulances and damaged the upcoming thermal power plant forcing police to resort to lathi charges and fire in the air to control the situation. Farmers’ leader Narendra Tiwary and four others have been arrested for damaging government property.
Farmers had resorted to agitation demanding “better” compensation for the land acquired from them for the Sutlaj Power Corporation’s thermal power project being set up at Chausa. The government had acquired 138 acres of land for the power plant being set up with a cost of Rs 11000 crore.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid its foundation on March 9, 2019. According to officials, about 75 per cent of the work have been completed. After commissioning, it will generate 1320 MW power; 75 per cent of which would be supplied to the farmers.
The protest took an ugly twist on Wednesday morning and a group of about 500 protesters attacked a police team and assaulted police officers at Akhoripura Gola outpost. They were agitated over police action at Banarpur village, where police entered the houses of agitating farmers late Tuesday night at 11.30 pm, assaulted women and children and arrested five leaders.
Farmers alleged the police brutally assaulted those who were sleeping in the chilly winter night, dragged them out of their houses.
The mob on Wednesday morning gate crashed into the power plant complex, set it on fire and torched three ambulances, three fire brigade tenders and five police vehicles. They also set on fire a part of the under-construction power plant.
Arrested farmers leaders told this correspondent, they were being paid compensation at the rate of 2013 when the power plant -was conceived and they needed payment at the current rate which was being denied to them.
Video Footage of Vehicles Burnt:
