Buddhadeb to address public meetings in Nandigram today

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee will address two public meetings at Nandigram today.

Nandigram, Dec 26 : West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee will address two public meetings at Nandigram today.

This will be his first visit to the area after intermittent violence broke out in Nandigram in January resulting in the State Government calling off its move to acquire land for a mega chemical hub project.

Bhattacharjee will address one meeting at Nandigram and other at Tamluk, the headquarters of East Medinipur district.

During his visit, he is expected to announce new development schemes for Nandigram.

According to sources, villagers will show black flags on his entry to Nandigram and purify their houses after he leaves the area. Besides, they are also planning to organise mass fast.

The agitations have been planned by the Bhoomi Uchched Protirodh Committee (BUPC), which is spearheading the anti-land acquisition movement that faced violent opposition from the State Government and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) cadres.

Earlier, Bhattacharjee had said that the violent situation in Nandigram was a political and administrative failure.

He had also claimed that the violence in Nandigram that began with people's protests against the land acquisition for setting up a Special Economic Zone would not impede the process of industrialisation in the State, and it would not affect the confidence of investors.

The State Government had planned to set up a SEZ for chemical industries in Nandigram, but had to abort the project as villagers refused to give up their farmland for the project.

The row saw violent clashes between residents opposed to the project and the communist supporters as well as police.

ANI