Deocha Pachami locals take to Kolkata streets to protest against coal project

An agitation by tribals from Deocha Pachami against the ongoing coal mining project, at Kolkata’s Sealdah on Friday, March 21, 2025.
| Photo Credit: DEBASISH BHADURI

Activists and locals from villages in and around the Deocha-Pachami-Dewanganj-Harisingha (DPDH) coal mining project in West Bengal’s Birbhum district organised a protest march in central Kolkata demanding a stoppage to the project and a ‘transparent meeting’ with the government.

Hundreds of villagers, including women, students and activists from across the State, marched from Sealdah Station to the Dharmatala area in Central Kolkata on Friday morning, protesting against the coal project and the episodic internet shutdowns in the area. They sloganeered and carried banners with slogans like ‘Cancel Deocha Pachami coal block’, and ‘No eviction, no coal block’.

On February 6 this year, mining work started at the DPDH coal block to excavate basalt and consequently, the underground coal reserves. Although West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee promised a lucrative compensation package and emphasised that no land would be forcibly acquired, protests erupted in the area against anticipated evictions and environmental damage.

“We want industry and development but we will not allow this coal project to evict locals, especially tribals from their rightful lands. We have reached out to the local administration through various channels and have protested against the coal block multiple times,” said tribal activist Shibu Soren at the protest rally.

Referring to the Chief Minister’s claim that no person would have to be evicted for the 3,600-acre-wide underground mining project, he alleged that such promises are meant as ‘eyewash’ to mislead the local tribal population.

“If the mining work continues, an atmosphere of hostility is bound to prevail in the area. Project workers from outside would regularly clash with local villagers. The natural environment will be destroyed, tribal culture will be destroyed, and religious establishments of minorities will be attacked. For the sake of Hindus, Muslims, Advisasis and to save the environment, our clear demand is a complete stoppage to the coal mining project,” Mr Soren said.

Sushil Murmu, a tribal from the area and president of the Deocha Pachami Gramsabha Samyani Hul Committee alleged the dissenters are being intimidated and falsely accused of Maoist activities to curb the burgeoning land rights movement in the area.

“Our Adivasi forefathers fought tooth and nail to protect these lands and the local environment from the British. We worship nature, we rely on it for sustenance. The trees being translocated for the project are centuries old and have provided for our children and families in many ways. Meanwhile, the government is destroying our forests and our lands. The trees will not survive being uprooted, they will be lost forever,” he said. 

He said locals want overall development in the area, not a coal mine nor a compensation package.

“The local hospital at Deocha Pachami has been overwhelmed with dust and debris from the mining project and is on the brink of complete shutdown. The local schools have an acute shortage of teachers and staffers. We have raised these civic issues multiple times with the local administration but no one is concerned about our wellbeing,” Mr Murmu said.

Kolkata-based activist Saradindu Biswas highlighted that rights of indigenous people to their land are protected by the Constitution. 

“Under the Forest Rights Act, the Gramsabha grants power to residents of forest land to autonomously decide on any project that can take place in the area. We do not think it is right to bypass the Gramsabha, not take its consent, and evict tribals for such a project,” he said.