Red Battlefields of Bengal! - Page 2

Just stopped by to express my honest feeling on this post.

1. Scanning through it, its going bonkers - need sometime to understand and express my views 😊

2. Felt like getting up from my chair and 👏 the way original post is written. Excellent!

Originally posted by: sunp

yes, that is the way it works, you give one of your prime property to attract a top player, once they are in, you attract other top players saying hey Tata's are here, they work as your reference saying how Bengal is a great place to setup investment and all those urban legends about setting up things in Bengal are false

All this gets decided they allocate Industrial Areas, when they do that the local leaders have a say(by arm twisting), if that area is such a sunhara area the populace has to have influence, if they have "influence" they can fend this off onto another area and generally the place which has the weakest politician or the place where people do not care what kind of a leader they choose(essentially the leader has no roots in that place) looses out.

All this is local level politics and who has the stronger hand and someone got caught asleep at the wheel, this happens all the times, I think it is getting the publicity and "special effects" b'cos it is the the Tata's and a foreign invesor involved and this is in Bengal

unfortunately someone is paying with their entire livelihood, it is either they who lose or the entire state of Bengal

Your choice!

It's not about people's choice sunp. Everyone in Bengal wants development and realises its importance but why give away valuable arable land when other options are available. Also now the matter has come down to taking lives in order to grab land, that's simply unacceptable.

Obviously like any developmental project here also NIMBY syndrome comes into play and the Govt. has to tackle that, which means sometimes forcibly grabbing land but using force to kill and grab is a bit too extreme.

I don't agree with the farmers who gave the excuse that they don't know anything other than farming and it's their traditional occupation, well there's a first time for everything, come out and learn something new. Moreover, the compensation package provided is much more than what the other states are providing and what the farmers can expect to earn in their lifetime from farming. All these are just fine, still the issue remains, why highly productive farm land instead of unproductive land especially when the latter is available.

Another thing is many from the villages adjacent to Haldia were forced to move when Haldia project was developed and they settled in the present Nandigram. Asking them to move a second time is too much. If the Govt. at that time lacked farsightedness and failed to clearly earmark areas meant for industrial or commercial use is it their fault??

The ideas of the Govt. about revival of industrialisation in Bengal is good no doubt but they're making a pig's ear in the way they're going about executing them.

 

Originally posted by: blyton

Moreover, farmers have a spiritual connection with their land: it is more than a source of livelihood to them; it is their mother, their nurturer, and often a legacy passed down from generations. Can the government afford to mow down these sentiments in the name of development, which is lop-sided to begin with?

Sorry but I don't believe in this line of reasoning which is also used by farmers all over India as an excuse to resist any kind of development. To start with almost all people were farmers and related to agriculture. If others can move out from that so can the present farmers. We've a lot more farmers than we require which just works as our disadvantage and decreases productivity. If they don't want to evolve it's their problem not other's. India have so much land used for agriculture and yet our per hectare yield for any crop is lower than the international standards, we'll do better if we use only the best land available and increase our yield to minimise the land usage for agriculture.

Originally posted by: sunp

Govt in India does not work according to planning, see what is the best place to setup an industrial estate, what land is not in use, what is not fertile

They look at closest transit point, what is convienient for the business, if it is fertile land, too bad

Unfortunately they do work like that and the impact is now all for us to see.

Short-sightedness will lead us nowehere.

I dont want industrialisation to stop cos its the driver of the country's growth process,but I surely want the arable farm lands to be spared, in the first wave itself. If we exhaust all arable land in this prelim phase itself, how are we going to cope with the later phases of industrialisation?

Thats my worry.

And yes, nothing justifies killing children, no matter what!

Please do check this article as published in the leading daily, The Telegraph on 16 March 2007.

Bengal makes public Tata plant concessions
- Govt to give Rs 200-crore soft loan, cites competition from other states to justify sops
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Calcutta, March 15: The Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government will give the Tatas a soft loan of Rs 200 crore along with concessions on lease rent and value added tax (VAT) to set up their small-car project in Singur.

"Unless we give these concessions to the Tatas, other states will wean them away and that would be a big jolt to our efforts to effect a turnaround for Bengal. Two years hence, every MLA sitting in this House will be able to watch how the state's economy would change with the advent of the Tatas," industries minister Nirupam Sen told the Assembly today in the first detailed official disclosure of the terms of the land deal.

Participating in the debate on the governor's address, Sen said the Tatas would invest Rs 1,700 crore in Singur, out of which Rs 1,200 crore would be for the mother plant and Rs 500 crore for the vendor park housing ancillaries.

Of the 997 acres of land acquired in Singur, the plant would come up on 645 acres for which the Tatas will not have to make any upfront payment, but only pay a lease rent that will be periodically revised (see chart).

The vendor park will come up on 290 acres, for which an upfront payment will be required and an annual lease rent of Rs 8,000 per acre charged. Sen did not specify the upfront amount, but said the total payment — also including the lease rent for both the mother plant and the vendor park — would exceed Rs 850 crore.

The West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) will give a "soft term loan'' of Rs 200 crore to Tata Motors on 1 per cent annual interest. Sen did not say when the loan amount, raised through market borrowings by the WBIDC, is to be repaid. "Government money is not being spent for this purpose. Profits of joint venture companies and sale of equity in state undertakings would be the means for providing subsidy to the car plant," the minister said.

On the VAT concession, Sen said the "refund would not be as grants. They would take the shape of loans, carrying a very nominal interest rate".

Sen justified the concessions, saying Uttarakhand had offered 100 per cent excise exemption to the Tatas while Himachal Pradesh was ready to exempt excise payment for 10 years and corporate tax for five years. He said that in the long run, the state would benefit "hugely'' from the Tata project and earn Rs 400-450 crore a year in revenue.


Edited by sangitadas - 17 years ago

Another related article:

'Bullet in belly' but on runaway list
SIMI KAMBOJ

Nandigram, March 15: For a day and a half, Sandhya Maiti has been wiping away her tears but will not accept that her 30-year-old daughter could be dead.

Since yesterday afternoon, the 55-year-old has been shuttling between Nandigram and Tamluk, 60 km away, visiting the hospitals there, scanning the patients' list and looking with trepidation at the bodies lying on the cold floor. But Kalyani isn't there.

"We were together. When the firing began, someone pushed me into a pond. I heard people shrieking. Then, after what seemed ages, some order was restored and I came out of the water to look for my daughter," the woman from Sonachura sobbed.

"But she was nowhere to be found. Since then I have been looking for her everywhere."

Neither can Tapan Samanta of Garchakraberia find his 24-year-old brother.

"When the police began firing, we all ran for cover. Our eyes were burning from tear gas; our vision was blurred. But somehow I managed to hide behind a tree.

"I have since then been looking for Subrata. But he is nowhere — not on the list of the dead, not in the hospitals, not even in the morgues."

His neighbour Abdur Rauf is certain that Subrata is dead. "I saw him get shot in the stomach. A few of us tried to drag him away but we finally had to let go and run to save ourselves," Rauf said.

"So where can he have gone? He must be dead — the police have removed the body. We refuse to believe that only 14 people died."

The inspector-general of police (western range), Arun Gupta, said some of the missing may have fled their homes.

But Rauf laughs mirthlessly. "Can Subrata, with a bullet in his stomach, have fled to a relative's house in a different block? Would Kalyani disappear without informing her mother?"

Parbati Mondal of Sonachura agrees. "My neighbour Bharat Mondal died in police firing in January when we tried to resist the police," she said.

"After yesterday's firing, his 18-year-old brother Pushpen has disappeared. I am sure he is dead. There are so many others who are not on the lists of the dead and injured. What we are asking our- selves is, where can they have gone?"

But if those who disappeared immediately after the firing are not in hiding, many others who have vanished since last night are, including some at the forefront of the land movement.

The police camps in the six villages where the force marched in yesterday have left residents petrified that they would be picked up and tortured for information.

"I'm leaving for a relative's place; I know how cruel the police can be," said 55-year-old Sheikh Sahadat at Kalicharanpur. "When we were hiding in the pond during the firing, they kept chucking bricks and stones at our heads to force us out."

Sahadat has a broken nose — he couldn't duck quickly enough. "Many people got fractured skulls, they are in hospital."

Other than these six villages, people are fleeing from neighbouring South Khali, Kalicharanpur and Garchakraberia. But another 18 villages are holding out — roads were dug up at fresh places in Amgachhia and Bhekutia today.

The BDO's office was torched, prompting the police to fire in the air and lob tear gas shells. The Citu office at Nandigram bus stand, too, was burnt and the CPM zonal committee office near Nandigram market was vandalised.

But Mehmooda Khatun has had enough. She will be leaving her home in Garchakraberia by tonight.

"Two-thirds of my village is empty," she said. "I don't want any more bloodshed. What's the point of a land movement if we lose our lives?"


Edited by sangitadas - 17 years ago

Sangitha ji!!!

Nice to see you in DM after somany days!!!

Well written post as usual!!👏

I think Bhuddadeb is on right track.These type of things happen as a part of new developments!!

@ Souro:Sangitha Das writes very well and when I was in kasam se forum,I used to wait eagerly for her daily posts.She used to analyse Jaiwalia😳 well!!

Wishes,

Myth

Another article - sorry guys I had to post all these

Court shoots down defence 'Innocents shot, who ordered it?'
OUR BUREAU


Calcutta/New Delhi, March 15: Calcutta High Court today described the police firing on "innocent people" in Nandigram as "wholly indefensible" and "wholly unconstitutional" and ordered the CBI to conduct a probe and report to it.

"It seems as if the police department, which is under the control of the home department (headed by chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee), is not even aware of the existence of Article 21 of the Constitution, let alone the freedoms granted to the citizen of this country," a division bench of Chief Justice S.S. Nijjar and Justice P.C. Ghosh said.

It went on to quote from the article: "No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law."

The judges acknowledged that there were conflicting versions of what had happened but "prima facie, in a wholly indefensible manner, innocent people have been shot down by none other than uniformed police officers".

The court asked the state government to put down in an affidavit the reasons for the "indiscriminate firing" and identify the "dignitary or official" who ordered it.

"The government will have to disclose the material on the basis of which the order was issued and what proceedings, in accordance with the departmental rules and under the general criminal law, have been initiated against any official who is found to have prima facie transgressed the power vested (in him)."

The court asked the CBI deputy inspector-general to send "a team immediately to Nandigram and any other surrounding affected area and to collect relevant material" which should be placed before the court as soon as possible.

The CBI quickly sent a three-member team, headed by a joint director, on its way to Nandigram.

Officials explained that speed in reaching the scene was crucial to prevent tampering with evidence or its inadvertent destruction.

The court echoed the statement issued by governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi yesterday, saying: "Such kind of force cannot be justified except in the case of armed insurgency and warlike situation. Innocent farmers and villagers can hardly be put into the aforesaid bracket."

The five-page order, which quoted the governor's statement in full, said: "Prima facie we are of the opinion that these observations clearly depict the extent of tragedy which has overtaken the population of Nandigram in particular and the population of West Bengal in general."

To the government, it said: "In view of (the) absolutely volcanic situation created, we direct the state to ensure the safety and well-being of all general public in the area (and) provide medical facilities to the injured."

Earlier, a group of about 20 advocates — including Kalyan Banerjee, Sardar Amjad Ali, Idris Ali and Subroto Mookherjee — petitioned the bench, saying: "The court should not remain mum." Other organisations, too, were waiting to move similar petitions. But the chief justice began pronouncing the order on his own. Edited by sangitadas - 17 years ago

Originally posted by: mythili_Kiran

Sangitha ji!!!

Nice to see you in DM after somany days!!!

Well written post as usual!!👏 Thanks

I think Bhuddadeb is on right track.These type of things happen as a part of new developments!!

Nobody said that he is wrong Mythili. Its that the path chosen is definitely wrong. Nothing can justify killing all these people, no matter what!

And since this is such a big issue, why not formulate a proper plan of action first, instead of preparing action plans for the party cadres to execute while re-capturing the villages.

Sorry dear I dont agree with you, even though I have no political colour on me.

@ Souro:Sangitha Das writes very well and when I was in kasam se forum,I used to wait eagerly for her daily posts.She used to analyse Jaiwalia😳 well!!

Well well, its ok.

Wishes,

Myth

Thanks Myth and congrats on becoming a Viewbie

Hey Sangita.. nice to see you in DM... your writings are great..!!!
cheers.