Panagarh, Mukesh Tiwari: Local villagers on Tuesday protested against a private coal mining company located at Basudevpur in Kankasa police station area of West Burdwan district, demanding fair wages. Villagers allege that the yield of Aman paddy has reduced in the area under the high mast light. Even the local laborers working in the company are not being given proper wages. Raising all these allegations, local laborers and villagers protested today. A protest was held in Basudebpur by stopping the construction work of a private coal lifting company.
When the situation became tense, the police of Durgapur Faridpur (Lavdoha) police station along with Kankasa police station reached the spot to handle the situation. It is known that hundreds of land donors of many villages including Basudebpur, Binodpur, Nayakanchanpur of Kankasa police station and Baidyanathpur, Kailaspur of Durgapur-Faridpur block stopped the construction work. This morning, there was a complaint by local villagers and laborers against the private coal lifting company that the company had promised to provide jobs in exchange for land. Many developments were also promised in the area. But it is alleged that the people of the said company did not pay any attention to this. Villagers also complained that high mast lights had been installed next to paddy fields.
At night, that light falls on the ground due to which the rice grains have difficulty in coming out. This is having a negative impact on the yield of paddy. Villagers say that if our demands are not met soon, we will be forced to carry out violent agitation. Deepak Sao, an official of the private coal lifting company, claimed that he has started the construction work of the private coal lifting company only after fulfilling the promises of the local residents. They are facing a lot of problems due to work being disrupted even before the production starts. He assured that the unfulfilled demands of the area residents will also be fulfilled soon.