Thousands of farmers detained in Ahmedabad

By d-sector Team
27 Feb 2010

Farmers and social activists opposing the Nirma group's planned cement plant and limestone quarry in Mahuva in Gujarat detained in Ahmedabad before they could organise a rally from Sabarmati to Gandhinagar.

Over five thousand farmers from the Mahuva area in the Bhavnagar district of Gujarat were detained and prohibited from taking out a peaceful rally protesting the Gujarat government’s approval for a cement plant and limestone quarry in their area.

The Mahuva farmers had managed to reach the Sabarmati Ashram despite Gujarat government’s measures to stop them from reaching Ahmedabad to organise a rally from Sabarmati Ashram to Gandhinagar to protest against the proposed plant by the influential Nirma group. Police had blocked all the entry points to the city but several hundred farmers managed to escape police checkpoints by walking long distances in the night.

However, the planned rally couldn't be organised due to preventive arrests and deployment of large number of police personnel to stop it at any cost. Most of the leaders and activists supporting the farmers protest were taken into police custody before they could start the rally.

Chunibhai Vaidya, 92 year old Gandhian who founded Gujarat Loksamiti, Kanubhai Kalsaria, MLA of Mahuva, Sanatbhai Mehta, ex Finance Minister of Gujarat, Ilaben Pathak of AWAG and a senior editor Prakash N Shah were the prominent persons among those detained by the police. Social and political leaders of Gujarat have criticised the high-handedness of the State government terming it ‘suppression of collective democratic rights’.

The farmers were enroute to the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, from where they intended to start a peaceful march to Gandhinagar to submit their petition, signed in blood by 11,111 affected individuals, when the buses and other vehicles they were travelling in were stopped by the police. The farmers were taken into police custody and brought to police grounds in Shahibagh area of Ahmedabad and detained there.

Several hundred protestors who reached the Sabarmati Ashram directly were also whisked away in police vans and blocked from taking out the march.

These farmers from Mahuva area in Bhavnagar district are protesting the decision by the Government of Gujarat to sanction a cement plant by Nirma Ltd, which includes 288 hectare of land for the factory and another 3000 hectare for a limestone quarry.

The affected villagers say that Mahuva area has among the most fertile lands in Gujarat, where farmers grow three crops, and export dehydrated onions and numerous other fruits. Moreover, the numerous onion dehydrating plants (turnover Rs. 300 crore) & cotton gins (turnover Rs. 3,500 crore) provide employment to an additional 10,000 people in the factories. They allege that the proposed cement plant will employ only 418 people for an investment of 2500 crore (Rs. 2.5 billion), but will end up devastating around 50,000 land owners, farmers & farm labourers, besides polluting the air and destroying the pristine coastal & inland ecology. It was only in the last few years that the Government had invested tens of millions of public money to construct structures for water conservation & prevention of salinity ingress in this area.

The farmers of the area contend that they have been facing the combined wrath of the government and company goons for protesting the government action. The government appointed a committee under SK Shelat (ex-Chief Secretary) to look into people’s grievances last year, and the company was required to stop work pending the presentation of the report of the Shelat Committee. The affected farmers allege that this Committee, without either visiting the area or listening to the affected people, has given the 'go-ahead' to the company for this project, which is likely to destroy the lives of around 50 000 people.　

The agitating farmers and activists assert that the Sabarmati arrests was not the first incident to repress the non-violent and peaceful expression of dissent by the affected villagers. Couple of months back, on 13 December 2009, the local MLA Dr Kanubhai Kalsaria, veteran Gandhian Chunibhai Vaidya, and several other leaders were prevented from holding a public meeting in Vangar village. Farmers also allege that two local leaders Wamanbhai and Pravinbhai Kathiria were apparently beaten up by hired goons, and other villagers were manhandled by the police.

Recently on 20 February, the police lathi-charged a peaceful rally of villagers, and ten activists were imprisoned on false charges, charge activists. Dr. Kanubhai Kalsaria, the MLA from Mahuva area, his wife and companions were reportedly again attacked on the way to Doliya village on 21 February, and their motorcycles were badly damaged. However, undeterred people from the Mahuva area decided to organise a massive march from Sabarmati Ashram to Gandhinagar (State capital) to present their petition to the Chief Minister, which they were not allowed to do. Social activists have condemned the latest round of police suppression of the affected villagers’ movement and expressed concern over the declining space available for voicing dissent in Gujarat today.

Instead of discouraging the affected farmers, the government action has encouraged them to spread the movement all over the state. It has been decided that the coming March 6 will be observed as Mahuva Day across the state. To make it effective, several organisations and activists have decided to organise various programs to create public awareness about the state government's move to grab lands of poor farmers across the state.

The Mahuva MLA Kalsariya, who has been leading the movement said, "We were just trying to march to Gandhinagar peacefully without creating any nuisance but it seems that the state government doesn't want to have a dialog with us. As thousands of protesters have gathered here despite of state government's efforts, we will continue our agitations in peaceful and non-violent but aggressive manner."