Chhattisgarh: 10 booked for protest against coal mine project in Surguja

A rioting case was registered against 10 people for taking part in a protest march against a coal mine project in Chhattisgarhs Surguja district, police said on Saturday.The march was taken out on Friday by villagers against the Parsa coal mine project and officials said they ransacked some properties of the mining firm at the project site near Salhi village under Udaipur police station limits.As per the complaint of project site security officer Anupam Dutta, some 220-250 people stormed into the premises armed with sharp-edged and traditional weapons.

A rioting case was registered against 10 people for taking part in a protest march against a coal mine project in Chhattisgarh's Surguja district, police said on Saturday.

The march was taken out on Friday by villagers against the Parsa coal mine project and officials said they ransacked some properties of the mining firm at the project site near Salhi village under Udaipur police station limits.

''As per the complaint of project site security officer Anupam Dutta, some 220-250 people stormed into the premises armed with sharp-edged and traditional weapons. They ransacked and torched the company's properties including a generator and makeshift tin shed, worth around Rs 10 lakh. They abused and assaulted workers there,'' an official said.

No arrest has been made in the case and further probe is underway, he added.

The Chhattisgarh government recently gave final approval for use of 841.538 hectare forest land for Parsa mining project spread across Surguja and Surajpur districts. The mine has been allotted to Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RRVUNL).

The residents of the project affected villages, including Fatehpur and Hariharpur, have been protesting against the mine for a long time and demanding a probe into the ''forged'' gram sabha documents based on which clearance was given for mining.

They have been protesting since April 2 and had even carried out a foot march last year till Raipur 300 kilometres away but the state government has not relented, said Alok Shukla, convenor of Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan, which is fighting for the rights of tribals as well as environment conservation.

The FIR against the tribals is an attempt to suppress the protest, he added.