KUMUD JENAMANI
Jamshedpur, July 31: Normal life in Kolhan was partially affected on Wednesday as a prominent tribals outfit enforced a band call given in protest of tribals’ land acquisition for road construction purpose by the state government.
Vehicular communication on the important arteries across the three districts in Kolhan stopped as bandh protagonists resorted to setting up blockades by burning tyres at strategic points.
Shops and businesses closed
The bandh supporters also enforced closures of shops and businesses as well as educational institutions in support of the bandh call.
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As a result of the protest by the tribals’ outfit, all the important roads in the twin districts of Singhbhum and Seraikela Kharsawan bore a deserted look since morning today except for scenes of tyre-burning mobs at the strategic points.
The slogans like “Hemant Soren hosh mein aao” and “Aadivasi jameen adhigrahan bandh karo” ranted the air in the rural landscape across the Kolhan, especially in the Seraikela-Kharsawan district.
Forcible acquisition of tribal lands for bypass road
The administration has also made elaborate deployment of police force in view of the potential violence during the protest. At some places, the police and protesters were found locking horns over doing excesses by the former.
The bone of contention that led the tribal outfits was the forcible acquisition of tribal lands at Tittarbila village in Seraikela recently. The land acquisition was made for a project of bypass road construction by the state government agency which allegedly neither took the permission of the Gram Sabha nor paid any compensation amount to the affected parties. Moreover, the acquired land included the land where tribals’ religious places existed.
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