Villagers force Mansa administration to postpone meeting on proposed cement plant

A meeting convened by the district administration with various departments and representatives of the proposed cement factory was postponed on Tuesday after a protest by the Sangharsh Committee, Talwandi Aklia (Talwandi Sabo Morcha), and the Bharti Kisan Union (Sidhupur).

The representatives of the villages of Talwandi Aklia and Karamgarh Autanwali refused to participate in the meeting held at the Zila Parishad Complex in Mansa.

The Morcha activists further staged a protest against the cement plant proposed to be set up in these two villages. They maintained that the project was being opposed by residents of the affected and neighbouring villages, as well as environmental and social organisations.

Mansa ADC (Development) Kritika Goyal said the meeting had been convened to understand the issue and hear the views of concerned officials, sarpanches and company representatives.

“I have joined here recently and the meeting was called to understand the issue. Now, the meeting is postponed until further orders. The union members also submitted a memorandum,” she said.

Meanwhile, members of the Morcha said villagers had been opposing the proposed plant for a long time. They pointed out that at the public hearing held on July 14 last year, residents had formally registered their objections to the project.

Sangharsh Committee Talwandi Aklia president Sukhdeep Singh and BKU (Sidhupur) district president Tarsem Singh Gobindpura urged the state government not to issue a no-objection certificate for the proposed factory.

They expressed apprehension that locating a cement plant close to densely populated villages could adversely affect public health and lead to pollution of the air, soil and water.