To put an end to the agitation at Bhangar in South 24 Paraganas district, the West Bengal police are planning to choke the supply of funds to the agitators by arresting those who are “covertly sponsoring” them.
Bhangar has witnessed several clashes between the Trinamool Congress cadres and the villagers who are agitating against the setting up of a power grid in the area.
A senior district police official told The Hindu that they had received “specific inputs” that a section of locals had been funding the agitation due to “vested interests”. “ We will initiate legal action against them.”
He also said a large section of these people ran “illegal” fisheries and brick manufacturing units in Bhangar. These are mainly located in the villages of Khamarait, Machibhanga, Tona and Bokdoba. The villages are the stronghold of the agitators.
‘Baseless charge’
Denying the allegation, the agitators said the police were trying to break the movement by “threatening the livelihood” of the villagers. “They [who own the fisheries and brick factories] have nothing to do with the agitation and the police are making a baseless claim that we receive funds from them,” said a member of the Committee for Protection of Land, Livelihood, Ecology and Environment, which is leading the agitation.
