Medha’s appeal to rights groups: Provide relief to victims

Addressing the media at the Writers’ Building after meeting chief secretary Amit Kiran Deb and home secretary Prasad Ranjan Ray today, Patkar said Nandigram residents require immediate relief.

“The situation is serious and most people are struggling to stay alive. We request all humanitarian organisations to go to Nandigram (to provide) relief to its residents and restore peace at the same time,” Patkar said.

The activist claimed that the region has been transformed into a death zone.

She said she and others accompanying her wanted to assess the ground situation on their own.

The residents, she said, irrespective of their political ideologies, have the right to stay at Nandigram. Comparing the “war-like” situation at Nandigram with the battle between the Kauravas and Pandavas in Mahabharata, Patkar said it was time for all to play the role of Arjuna.

She objected to the presence of the Central Reserve Police Force in the region. “Even if the force visits the affected areas, they will still be in the hands of the state government. It is a matter of life and death. In this scenario, one can’t sit quietly and do nothing,” she said.

Asked why she had kept away from the area during the last few months, Patkar said she had been there very much and on an earlier visit had been prevented from entering the region (allegedly by CPM supporters).

“We had come here because we do not want to stop the dialogue. The chief secretary asked us not go to Nandigram, but we are going anyway. Peace can be restored in the region through instructions issued from this building (Writers’) itself. We have also been seeking an appointment from the chief minister. But so far, he has not been able to give us time,” Patkar said.