The Left parties on Thursday blamed the CISF for complicating the situation at NTPC Simhadri leading to stone-pelting and opening of fire in the air at Parawada.
District Collector Lav Agarwal and Commissioner of Police J. Poornachandra Rao visited the site where there was a clash between the fishermen of Tikkavanipalem and CISF men on duty near the seawater pump house and interacted with the villagers and NTPC officials over the demand for providing jobs to the project affected people.
Meanwhile, S. Massan, a fisherman and another person who suffered minor injuries in the incident were shifted to King George Hospital.
CPI (M) district committee member Ganisetti Satyanarayana, who was present at the spot, squarely held the CISF and NTPC officials for the violence. He said the fishermen, who were already faced with pollution problem, went to the pipeline laying work for the expansion project, pressed for contract jobs in the project as they had lost livelihood due to pollution in the sea caused by use of seawater by NTPC.
CPI district secretary J.V. Satyanarayana Murthy later called on the injured patients at KGH and justified the demand by the fishermen for jobs in NTPC and contractors engaged by it as part of rehabilitation package.
Meanwhile, the Movement for People-Centred Development, while condemning the lathicharge by CISF on the fishermen near the NTPC SImhadri power plant and firing into air, said the NTPC did not respond to the pleas of villagers around the plant to save them for pollution and they had no security to their lives. The incident and the background to it did not bode well and it was the result of failure on the part of people’s representatives and the government to understand people’s problems and find solutions, said MPCD’s J.V. Ratnam and others.
