Locals from 20 Maharashtra villages protest against Ratnagiri oil refinery project

Over 500 villagers staged a sit-in protest against an oil refinery project in Rajapur of Maharashtras Ratnagiri district, an official said on Thursday.

Residents of 20 villages, including women and children, began the protest at Shivne Khurd village on Wednesday and stopped the agitation on Thursday afternoon, he said. The villagers were protesting against $60 billion project, which is being planned at Barsu. The project was earlier planned at Nanar, but there was opposition from local groups and the Shiv Sena at the time.

The protest began after some government officials came to the area to measure land, carry out a drone survey and test the soil in the region, the official said.

District Guardian Minister Uday Samant said no decision will be taken without taking the views of both sides into consideration and claimed that these protests were happening due to some misunderstanding.

During a recent visit to Ratnagiri, state Environment minister Aaditya Thackeray had said the the proposed multi-billion dollar refinery project in the Konkan region will come up only after the locals are consulted and their consent is obtained.

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