Twelve residents of 10 villages affected by the Navi Mumbai International Airport project ended their nine-day-long hunger strike after Pravin Darekar, the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, met them on Friday.
Over 200 project affected persons (PAP) have been protesting outside the CIDCO office since December 2019 to press for their demands. Ramchandra Mhatre of the Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha from Raigad, who has been leading the protest, said, “Mr. Darekar offered water to the protesters on hunger strike. As a sign of respect, they obliged. Though the hunger strike has been called off, the protest will continue till CIDCO meets our demands.”
Mr. Darekar, who also met CIDCO officials and requested them to consider the protesters’ demands, said, “Issues that matter to the powerful are looked into, but no one bothers about the poor. Even after a month, the demands have not been met. It shows the apathy of the government. If the situation stays the same, the Kisan Sabha will ramp up the protest and we will give our full support.”
Meanwhile, CIDCO has decided to form a committee to look into the demands. A CIDCO officer said, “The committee will be headed by retired IAS officer Subodh Kumar. Representatives from the villages, the additional chief land and survey officer, and the heads of CIDCO’s anti-encroachment, and rehabilitation and resettlement departments will be part of it.” The committee will examine the documents and video evidence of the constructions and its decision will be final.
CIDCO has so far received 40 applications after it issued a notice asking people to come forward with their grievances.
