Andhra Pradesh   

No lesson from Nandigram: IFTU

Staff Reporter

Government urged not to take mining without mandate from girijans

VISAKHAPATNAM: Even after public outcry against Nandigram and Kalinganagar incidents, the authorities had not learnt any lesson on stopping acquisition of farmlands for industries, said Indian Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU) State president P. Prasad on Sunday.

Speaking at a convention on displacement of farmers and workers due to Special Economic Zones, he said the Tata project was going on notwithstanding the killing of several innocent tribals protesting against their displacement. He said the Nandigram firing in West Bengal was also a black spot where the Left Front Government wanted to suppress public voice by applying force.

Mr. Prasad regretted that even the Left parties which were known for championing the cause of working class, were toeing the line of corporates and big industrial houses.

Instead of making the displaced persons stakeholders in the new projects, they were being forced to migrate in search of work or reduced to bonded labourers.

Referring to bauxite mining projects Ananthagiri and GK Veedhi mandals in the district, he said the Government should not take up any mining without the mandate from girijans.

He said the mining lobby was trying to loot the minerals from the agency area in blatant violation of laws of the land.

IFTU district president Y. Kondaiah, secretary M. Venkateswarlu and educationist M.L.N. Raju spoke.

`Scrap SEZ law'

Communist Party of India (ML) Liberation's national secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya has demanded complete scrapping of Special Economic Zone Act which he felt had no place in democracy. Participating in a `meet-the-press' programme organised by the Vizag Journalists' Forum (VJF) at its Press Club on Sunday, he compared the SEZ to the British rule in the past where India formed a single SEZ for Britain in the name of colonial rule.

Now the whole country was being divided into several SEZs which were corporate enclaves, he commented.

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