Late Thursday evening, angry farmers of Kokodi village created a ruckus at ‘Maa Danteshwari Maize Processing and Marketing Cooperative Society’ (Ethanol Plant) located in Kondagaon district of Chhattisgarh. Angered by the crop damage due to chemical water and the administration not listening, the villagers entered the plant and not only vandalized the machines but also damaged the cars and tractors parked there. The situation became so tense that the police had to struggle a lot to stop the crowd.
The villagers allege that the chemical-laden poisonous water coming out of this plant is being released into their fields for the last one year. Hundreds of acres of crops are being ruined due to this. Village Sarpanch Mansukh Netam said that the ponds of the village have become poisonous due to this contaminated water, due to which many animals have died after drinking its water. The villagers gave written complaints to the plant management and the district administration several times, but no one took any notice. Due to lack of hearing, the patience of the farmers broke on Thursday.
Loss worth lakhs by entering the plant
Hundreds of villagers reached the gate of the plant late Thursday (February 12) evening. The police tried to stop them, which led to a clash. The crowd was so furious that the police force had to retreat. After this, the villagers entered inside the plant and vandalized the office, valuable machines and vehicles (cars and tractors) parked in the premises. It is estimated that the plant management has suffered a loss of lakhs of rupees due to this.
150 crore project, but waste management failed
Let us tell you that this maize processing unit was started in Kokodi about 2 years ago at a cost of Rs 150 crore. The claim was that this would benefit 65 thousand farmers and 80 thousand liters of ethanol would be produced daily. But the villagers say that no arrangement was made for the disposal of the waste and chemicals generated after making ethanol, due to which they are now having to suffer the consequences.
Tension in village, area turned into police camp
As soon as information about the incident was received, all top officials including Kondagaon SP and SDM reached the spot. The villagers surrounded the plant throughout the night. At present, heavy police force has been deployed to control the situation. Administration officials are appealing to the villagers to maintain peace by convincing them and assuring them that the matter will be investigated, but the atmosphere in the village still remains tense.