Click to play videoNandigram (West Bengal): The West Bengal government on Thursday said no official notification for acquisition of land at Nandigram in West Bengal has been issued yet and that villagers are reacting to rumours.
Angry villagers and police clashed on Wednesday over the state government acquiring land for a special economic zone (SEZ). There hasn't been any violence on Thursday but the protests are likely to continue.
The notification – indicating the mouzas or wards where the proposed land acquisition will take place – reportedly triggered the violence at Nandigram in East Midnapore.
The state administration said no official land acquisition notice had been issued and that villagers reacted to rumours.
They attacked panchayat offices in protest. And the police resisted by firing 15 rounds in the air but that only made matters worse.
Local residents also dug up roads and destroyed bridges to completely cut off the area targeted for acquisition. Police say they are waiting for things to calm down.
"We are monitoring the situation. We can't risk going there now," said Midnapore Range Inspector General of Police Arun Kumar Gupta.
In Nandigram the West Bengal government wants to acquire ten to fourteen thousand acres spread over 27 mouzas or wards. This will cause large-scale displacement of the people and also disrupt their livelihood.
Land in Nandigram is not as fertile as in Singur. But that isn't going to make Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's life easier.
People in Nandigram feel they have been neglected through decades. And the protests are likely to get firmer.
Finally, what has made matters worse here is lack of development. Schools are in a shambles, and the government has done little or nothing to improve irrigation facilities.
Frustration has now turned into anger, making the land acquisition in Nandigram difficult.
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