Crowd Erupts Over Action for Investment Zone
Tension flared in the Palsodi area of Ratlam on Friday when villagers pelted stones at a joint team of administration and police that had arrived to clear encroachments for a proposed investment zone. To bring the worsening situation under control, the police resorted to a mild use of force and fired tear gas shells to disperse the crowd. Three policemen were injured in the stone-pelting and were rushed to hospital with the help of an ambulance. According to information, around 1700 hectares of land belonging to Palsodi and four to five surrounding villages has been included in this proposed investment zone, against which villagers have been agitating for a long time. The administrative officers reached the spot at around 11 am on Friday morning along with a heavy police force, JCBs and a bulldozer.
Stone-Pelting and Chaos During the Action
As soon as the action began, villagers gathered in large numbers and started protesting. Officials tried to reason with them, but when no agreement could be reached, the police detained around 15 to 20 people. The work of clearing the encroachments then got under way. Meanwhile, some people began hurling stones at the police and the administrative staff. The sudden stone-pelting triggered chaos at the spot. To control the situation, the police used force and fired tear gas shells. Three policemen were injured in the incident and were sent for treatment. After the incident, a heavy police force has been deployed across the area, and the administration says the situation is currently under control.
Team Arrived With Heavy Staff and Machinery
City SDM Archie Harit, Tehsildar Rishabh Thakur and RI Vicky Thakur reached the site along with 10 patwaris to carry out the encroachment removal. Besides them, CSP Satyendra Ghanghoria, IA police station in-charge Gayatri Soni, DD Nagar police station in-charge Anurag Yadav and Manak Chowk police station in-charge Vikram Singh Chouhan, along with around 100 policemen, stayed put with a Vajra vehicle. For the action, the officials had brought two Poklens, 2 JCBs, 5 dumpers and trolleys, while a fire brigade and an ambulance were also stationed at the spot as a precaution. Notably, a protest had erupted over the same issue in the month of April as well, when the SDM had to sit on the ground to pacify the villagers.
An Old Protest, With Public Representatives Standing Alongside
People of the area have been continuously protesting against the industries corridor. During the demonstration held in April, the BAP party, JAYAS and several tribal organisations had backed the villagers. On that occasion, Sailana MLA Kamleshwar Dodiyar had also joined the villagers and sat on a dharna in the investment zone. The sit-in was attended by several public representatives, including District Panchayat Vice-President Keshuram Ninama, Congress leader Lakshman Singh Dindor, Gordhan Borasi, the sarpanch's husband of Gram Panchayat Palsodi, and Julwania sarpanch Chhotu Bhabar. On receiving word of the dharna, Sailana SDM Tarun Jain, Ratlam Tehsildar Rishabh Thakur, Manoj Jain, officials of MPRDC and a police force reached the spot. The officials heard out the villagers and public representatives and also placed the relevant documents before them. For the dialogue, the SDM and Tehsildar too had to sit on the ground between the MLA and the villagers, but no agreement on a solution could be reached by the afternoon. After this, the administrative officers had once again tried to persuade the villagers.
