By IANS
Nandigram (West Bengal) : West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi Sunday visited violence-hit Nandigram appealing for peace, even as supporters of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and the opposition Trinamul Congress stopped his convoy at several places to voice their grievances.
As his convoy crossed the Tekhali bridge, which connects Nandigram with Khejuri, he ran into a protest from CPI-M supporters who shouted slogans against him and demanded why he had come after 11 months when they were at the receiving end of attacks allegedly perpetrated by Trinamul-backed Bhumi Uchched Pratirodh Committee (BUPC) supporters.
The governor gave a patient hearing to them, noted their grievances and went to Bhangabera, Sonachura, Kendamari, Gokulnagar, Adhikaripara and Garchakraberia where CPI-M workers surrounded his convoy and staged an agitation, protesting against the alleged attacks carried out by Trinamul supporters.
The scene was the same at Brajamohan Tiwari High School where BUPC supporters, who have been living in relief camps there, narrated their plight, complained against CPI-M workers and demanded his immediate intervention.
The BUPC supporters told the governor they had been living in relief camps since Nov 5 when they were allegedly driven out of their homes during the “recapture” of the trouble-torn district by CPI-M cadres.
The governor also went to the Nandigram BMT Shikshaniketan relief camp where anti-land acquisition group BUPC members had taken shelter after last month’s violence and interacted with women and children there.
Asked about his message to the people of Nandigram, Gandhi said, “It is time for peace to prevail. It is also important for normalcy to stabilise. I have seen rhythms of normalcy here with people going about their work. But most people are still living in fear. It will take some time for the trauma to subside.”
The governor said people told him that Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were doing good work in the district. “People here want CRPF to remain for sometime,” he said.
Gandhi said he would send a report about his visit to the president and the union home ministry.
The governor, who left Raj Bhavan around 6.30 a.m. for Nandigram, around 150 km from Kolkata, toured several violence-hit areas and assured security to the people.
He stopped at several places like Chandipur, Muradpur and Hanschera and enquired after the well-being of the violence-scarred villagers.
Gandhi advised the people to send their children back to school.
He also participated in a game of cricket with kids on the Sitananda College ground in an effort to bring back smiles on their faces. The governor, who was bowled on the first ball, played on for some time.
Later in the evening, he also held a meeting with the block development officer of Nandigram block-I.
At least 35 people have died in violence in Nandigram since January when the region flared up in protest over proposed land acquisition for a special economic zone (SEZ) in collaboration with Indonesia’s Salim group for developing a chemical hub.
The state government scrapped the plan later in the face of stiff resistance. Since then a turf battle between the CPI-M and the BUPC has broken out repeatedly.