Tag: refinery

Raj Thackeray urges to protect pre-historic Petroglyphs, opposes refinery plan

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Ratnagiri: Adopting a significant stance, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President Raj Thackeray on Saturday batted for tourism while opposing the proposed Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd (RRPCL) project coming up in this picturesque region where prehistoric Petroglyphs were discovered.
Addressing a public meeting here, Raj Thackeray said the Petroglyphs found here are still being studied and analysed and as per international norms, no development activities can be carried out in its vicinity.
The astounding Petroglyphs in and around Barsu were discovered in 2012 and have already made it to the Unesco’s tentative list of World Heritage Sites and locals now fear that if the RRPCL comes up here, this pre-historic site would be lost forever, he said as a caution to the Central and state governments.

Interestingly, former Chief Minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray went around the Petroglyphs site along with the Barsu villagers who are opposing the refinery project.
“When the RRPCL project was announced for Barsu, I was very upset. Why can’t such big projects go to Goa or Kerala? The beautiful Konkan is intended only for tourism. Only Konkan tourism is sufficient to support the entire (economy) of Maharashtra,” Raj Thackeray said.
He warned the people of Konkan against selling off their valuable land at cheap rates “to politicians and businessmen who are aware of big projects coming up all around and then make huge profits from your land”.
The MNS chief strongly advised Konkanis that henceforth, if anybody wants to buy out their beautiful and fertile lands, “first ask them what’s the purpose” before parting with it, otherwise “you will have nothing but regrets”.
Raj’s unexpected stance — which could be music to the locals and the Shiv Sena (UBT) — may prove to be jarring for the ruling Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party which has been hoping for a partnership with the MNS.

Ironically, during the day, former Chief Minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray, visited Barsu where he threw his full lot with the people opposing the refinery project, even as the BJP launched a sharp attack on him.
Referring to the proposed sea-memorial of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj off the Mumbai coast, the MNS chief — estranged cousin of Uddhav Thackeray — also questioned the need to spend over Rs 10,000 crore on the monument planned for the great Maratha warrior-king in the Arabian Sea.
“Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj constructed several sea-forts dotting the Konkan coast. Why can’t the memorial funds be diverted for their upkeep and renovation? That’s our real legacy. Will you leave statues for the future generations to view?” Raj Thackeray demanded.
He also expressed his ire over the long delays for the upcoming Mumbai-Goa highway which has been pending proper completion since 2007 and is a road traveller’s nightmare.
“Why such a long delay? Have you ever questioned your elected representatives? What’s taking so many years for the project to come up? Today, someone told me that the contractors for one of the sections has abandoned it,” Raj Thackerary said in an incredulous tone.
The MNS leader also took potshots at his cousin Uddhav Thackeray, asking why there are differences in his party – Shiv Sena (UBT) – with some opposing and others supporting the refinery plans.
He also accused Uddhav Thackeray of allegedly ‘usurping’ the sprawling former Mayor Bungalow at Dadar west (Mumbai) in the name of the late Balasaheb Thackeray Memorial, and asked whom he had asked for it.
This was Raj Thackeray’s first foray into the Konkan region in several years and he conceded that he “was keen since long to come and discuss the problems of the people here”.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 6, 2023
Take refinery to Gujarat, bring projects from neighbouring state to Maha: Uddhav

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Ratnagiri: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said the proposed oil refinery in Barsu in coastal Ratnagiri district should be moved to Gujarat and good investment projects from the neighbouring state be brought to Maharashtra.
Interacting with villagers at Barsu, Thackeray dared the government to face the protesters and support the project, even as BJP leaders took out a rally in the area backing it.
As the chief minister of Maharashtra, Thackeray said, he had proposed Barsu as a site for the refinery project when he was the chief minister. He asserted that he did not specify come what may, even if it means “breaking heads of protesters” or people turning pauper, the refinery project must come up.

“The bulk drugs park, Vedanta-Foxconn and Tata-Airbus are gone (to Gujarat). My opinion is to take this (refinery) project to Gujarat and bring our good projects to Maharashtra. Whatever is non-controversial is for Gujarat and what is controversial is imposed on Konkan and Maharashtra,” Thackeray said.
On the other hand, BJP MLA Nitesh Rane, his brother and former MP Nilesh Rane, took out a morcha in support of the refinery project.
Nilesh Rane said Thackeray backed the project when he was the chief minister, but he is opposing it as he is in the opposition now.
Thackeray said that he will not let any development project come up that hurts the interests of people.
The ex-CM said he had the honesty to face the protesters. He said the government should hold a dialogue with locals before coming up with any project.
A section of locals is opposing the Barsu refinery on the grounds that it will adversely affect the fragile biodiversity of the coastal Konkan region and also hit their livelihood.

Thackeray said when he was the chief minister, similar protests had taken place while building the Samruddhi highway.
“But we struck a dialogue with protesters. We worked out a way without hampering development,” he said.
Earlier, Thackeray had planned to hold a rally in the Barsu-Solgaon area earlier but was denied permission.
Protests broke out at Barsu after the work for soil testing began at the site last month. It also pitted the state’s Eknath Shinde-BJP government against the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress.
MVA leaders have demanded sensitive handling of the situation arising out of the agitation.
Following the detention of several protesters, including women, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former state environment minister Aaditya Thackeray had asked the government to “stop atrocities on people and also the soil survey”.
Uday Samant, Maharashtra industries minister, had alleged that “misunderstandings” were being deliberately created about the project for political mileage and slammed the “politics of double standards”.
Samant claimed that out of 5,000 acres of land needed for the refinery, people owning 2,900 acres have already given consent letters.
Amid the protests, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said last month that the proposed refinery project at Barsu won’t be implemented without the local people’s consent as he appealed for calm in the area.
The project was initially planned at Nanar in Ratnagiri district. Following protests by locals earlier, the erstwhile Uddhav Thackeray government had suggested to the Centre an alternative site at Barsu.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 6, 2023
Maha: Court grants bail to 111 people held during protest against refinery

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Mumbai: A court in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri has granted bail to 111 people, most of them women, who were arrested for holding an agitation against a proposed oil refinery at Barsu village in the coastal district.
More than 100 women were among the protesters who tried to block a road in Barsu and Solgaon areas of Ratnagiri, around 400km from Mumbai, on Tuesday by lying on the ground to stop government vehicles from entering the proposed site of the refinery.
“The Ratnagiri police arrested the 111 protesters. After their arrest, they were produced in a court later that evening, which then granted bail to them,” an official said.

Since a large number of police personnel were deployed in the area on Wednesday, peace prevailed in the area and no agitation was held during the day, he said.
The protesters were booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections related to unlawful assembly, rioting, disobedience to an order lawfully promulgated by a public servant, wrongful restraint and relevant provisions of the Maharashtra Police Act, he added.
Local residents fear that the mega project will adversely affect the fragile biodiversity of the coastal Konkan region and also hit their livelihood. The opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) came out in their support and demanded an immediate end to “atrocities” against protesters.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 26, 2023
Maha: 111 people held during protest against refinery; Sena (UBT) says stop ‘atrocities’

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Mumbai: Police on Tuesday arrested 111 people, most of them women, during a protest against a proposed oil refinery at Barsu village in Maharashtra’s coastal Ratnagiri district, an official said.
More than 100 women were among the protesters who tried to block a road in Barsu and Solgaon areas of the district, around 400km from Mumbai, by lying on the ground to stop government vehicles from entering the proposed site of the refinery, he said.
The protesters were booked under IPC sections related to unlawful assembly, rioting, disobedience to an order lawfully promulgated by a public servant, wrongful restraint and relevant provisions of the Maharashtra Police Act, the official said, adding they will be produced before a court at Rajapur town in Ratnagiri district on Wednesday.

Local residents fear the mega project will adversely affect the fragile biodiversity of the coastal Konkan region and also hit their livelihood. The Opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) came out in their support and demanded an immediate end to “atrocities” against protesters.
A government team was scheduled to conduct a survey at the site in Barsu and Solgaon areas of Rajapur, on Monday, but locals started staging protests, the official said.
During the protest, women lay on the ground to prevent vehicles of the district administration and police from entering the areas, he said.
Considering the law and order situation, hundreds of police personnel were deployed at the project site, the official said.
Ratnagiri Superintendent of Police Dhananjay Kulkarni and other senior police officials were at the spot to avoid any untoward incident, he said.

Opposition leader Ajit Pawar of the NCP earlier in the day demanded that protests by locals against the refinery project be handled sensitively and urged that the state government stop the survey work till a peaceful solution was found.
Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut demanded an immediate end to “atrocities” against locals and asserted his party will not sit quietly on the issue and back the people.
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged the protesters were being pressurised by Industries Minister Uday Samant with the help of police.
“This is a government with a perverse mentality. They want a Jallianwala Bagh-like massacre. We are with people and the Shiv Sena (UBT) will not sit quiet,” Raut said.
He said Chief Minister Eknath Shinde thinks he is a “messiah” of the poor, but has left on a three-day “leave” in a helicopter, a reference to the CM going to his hometown in Satara district.
Shinde should instead take the helicopter to Barsu and meet the protesters there, said the Rajya Sabha member.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former minister Aaditya Thackeray said, “The government should stop atrocities on people and also the soil survey.”
The former state environment minister said the government should start a dialogue with the agitating local residents.
The previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government had put some conditions before giving a nod to the project which included taking the locals into confidence and explaining the details of the venture and its benefits, Thackeray said.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 26, 2023
Iraqi PM Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani inaugurates Karbala oil refinery

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Baghdad: Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani has inaugurated the Karbala oil refinery which was built with a production capacity of 140,000 barrels per day, according to a statement from his office.
The refinery, located in the south of Karbala City, nearly 110 km south of Baghdad, includes 33 operational, service, and storage units, as well as a warehouse and a station for pumping products to external depots and gas filling stations, Xinhua news agency reported.
The refinery also includes a power station with the capacity to produce 200 megawatts of electricity, and is supplied with crude oil through a pipeline from the southern oil fields in Basra, said the statement.

The refinery is designed to produce gasoline, jet fuel, solid sulfur, and cooking gas to help meet the growing domestic demand for oil derivatives.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 2, 2023