Women lead protest against site chosen for proposed medical college
Post News Network
Puri: At least 11 people were left injured in violent clashes in Baliguali area in the district Thursday when hundreds of villagers protesting against a proposed medical college confronted police.
The villagers have been protesting for long against the site earmarked for the medical college and demanding its relocation. Several rounds of discussions held between the villagers and the district administration to resolve the stalemate have remained futile.
The clashes started between the villagers and policemen in the morning after officials of the district administration reached the site for demarcation of boundary wall for the proposed medical college. A group of women gathered at the Gopinath Jew temple and decided in a meeting there to hold protests. Then they reached the site for the proposed medical college and began chanting slogans against it. Fearing a law and order situation, the administration clamped Section 144 in the area and urged the protestors to vacate the place. The women protestors, however, did not bother and continued their protest.
This prompted deputy commandant Lingaraj Mishra to reach the spot and deploy seven platoons of police force to control the situation. The protesting women, however, lay prostrate before the JCB machines in protest.
“If the administration moves the JCB machines ahead, they will have to run them over our bodies. We will not let the administration set up the medical college here till we are alive,” said the women.
The situation aggravated after 10 women were detained. Hundreds of men from the village joined the protest and attacked the policemen. At least 11 villagers were injured in the clashes. Akshay, a villager, was seriously injured in the clashes and was immediately shifted to the district headquarters hospital.
Later, some young girls from the village joined the protest. The villagers then blocked the Puri-Konark marine drive road at Baliguali, disrupting traffic for several hours.
Some villagers, however, stayed off the protest as they supported the setting up of the medical college, saying it will develop the area. They alleged that those protesting against the proposed medical college project are not keen for the development of the region.
