India: Thousands of Peasants Struggle Against Expansion of Coal Mine in Chhattisgarh
Since the 12th of December, hundreds of residents from 14 villages have been participating in a sit-in protest in Libra village in the Tamnar area of Raigarh district in Chhattisgarh. The peasants were protesting the expansion of a Jindal Power Limited (JPL) coal handling plant, which would expand into land vital to the livelihoods of the peasants. JPL is part of the Jindal Group, one of the biggest Indian corporations. After the old State dispatched police forces to disperse the sit-in, the villagers responded by defending themselves, and clashes ensued.
According to reports, after the police detained some of the protesters, the peasants responded by defending themselves, with thousands of peasants from neighboring villages joining the struggle. In defense of the protest they blocked roads, stormed the coal handling plant of JBL and torched a conveyor belt and several vehicles, including two tractors and at least 8 police officers were injured.
The Gare Pelma coal block, in which the JPL coal handling plant operates, lies in the north-eastern Chhattisgarh, a region characterized by dense forests, fertile agricultural land and a high concentration of Adivasi communities. This expansion could lead to the displacement of this Adivasi peasantry, and to the deforestation, groundwater depletion, air pollution and contamination of local streams, that are essential for the peasantry of the area.
This is not the first instance of this happening, earlier this month on December 4th clashes broke out between peasants and police in Surguja district, after peasants protesting the expansion of the Amera coal mine in Parsodi Kala village, with more than 30 police officers injured in the clashes.
The infringement of the land rights of the peasants of India for the benefit of corporations is nothing new, and this justified struggle of the peasants for land again shows us the role of the old State, which is handing over the country’s wealth and natural resources, and dispossessing and displacing the peasantry.
