A large number of angry locals confront the police over the IIT survey work at Melauli even as police clash with agitated locals on Tuesday.
VALPOI
Melauli village in Sattari turned into a warzone on Tuesday after dozens of policemen and policewomen clashed with hundreds of furious locals over the survey work being conducted for the controversial IIT project.
What was meant to be a routine agitation by locals, who have been united in opposing the IIT project took a violent turn on Tuesday when they learnt that survey work was being conducted at the proposed site.
According to sources, the locals have been gathering on the road everyday since the last few months as part of their ongoing protest against the IIT project.
On Monday, the locals received information that a government team would be conducting a survey of the site on Tuesday.
In a bid to stop the government team from conducting the survey, a larger number of locals joined in the protest on Tuesday morning.
Busloads of policemen and policewomen were stationed at the site towards Murmune and agitated locals started arguing with the police and clashes broke out between the police and locals.
In the meanwhile, government team visited the IIT site from another route and began its survey work.
At about 2 pm, locals learnt of the survey being conducted from the temple side and they rushed towards the site, only to realise that survey team had already left the site.
The outraged locals gave vent to their anger by confronting dozens of policemen and policewomen at the site.
The police formed a cordon to prevent the growing numbers of protestors from marching ahead. The locals tried to break the cordon and in the ensuing scuffle, some local women fell on the ground.
A short while later, hundreds of people arrived at the site and they quickly outnumbered the police, forcing the men and women in uniform to retreat, amid the jeering of outraged locals.
Some agitated locals then lit fire to the dry grass around the police buses.
Sensing further tension and violence, the police buses quickly tried to move away from the site. As the police buses were leaving, one bus got stuck for a short while, much to the delight of the protestors.
Sattari Deputy Collector Rajesh Ajgaonkar confirmed that survey for the IIT project had begun and said the survey work under police protection would continue in the future.
