Tribals stick to tree siege

Lalgarh/Jhargram, Nov. 13: Lalgarh continued to remain under siege as tribals turned a deaf ear to requests from their leaders to clear trees from Jhargram’s roads this evening.

The tribal leaders held a meeting in the afternoon with the district administration, which agreed to some of their demands (see chart).

The leaders agreed to lift blockades in all places except Lalgarh. Nearly 300 members of the Bharat Jakat Majhi Marwa (BJMM), who met tonight to discuss the Lalgarh impasse, will hold talks with the administration to find a solution.

Armed with the officials’ assurances, the leaders went to the protesters and asked them to remove trees from roads in Jhargram, but the tribals turned violent, even hitting one of their leaders.

Convener of the BJMM’s youth wing Munshiram Murmu was assaulted for “agreeing” to withdraw the blockade, thus “neglecting” the plight of the victims of police atrocities in Lalgarh.

“Normality must return to Lalgarh first... only then will we allow blockades to be withdrawn from other places,” shouted Anup Soren.

Jhargram’s last link to the rest of the state — a metalled road from Midnapore town via Dherua — was cut off by trees today. Villagers also blocked roads in Goaltore and Salboni.

District officials alleged Maoists had “infiltrated” the tribal agitation and were trying to ensure that the area continued to simmer. They stressed their point saying every time a demand was met, a fresh one cropped up, which was often “impossible” to agree to.

District authorities said the latest demand, that all tribals arrested over the last 10 years be released irrespective of their offence, was “absurd”.

Four students belonging to the Santhal Engineering Students’ Welfare Association reached Lalgarh this afternoon to join the protest against the “torture and exploitation of tribals”. Two of them are from the Bengal Engineering and Science University and two from Vidyasagar Polytechnic College in Jhargram town.