An armed protest was carried out by more than 50 landowners at the project site of a private mining company of BCCL in Muraidih underground Colliery of Barora Area on Monday.

The protesters, wielding traditional arms like bows and arrows, spears and lathi sticks, gathered at the main gate of the project site at around 7.30 am shouting slogans and alleging that jobs and monetary compensation was not given by the company in exchange for their land.

The protestors blocked the entry of workers to the mine and demanded their land be given back to them.

Mano Devi, one of the protestors said that a large number of local villagers parted with 220 acres of land for the project ahead of 2014 as they had been promised jobs and compensation.

“We have been giving notices to BCCL since 2015 to provide us our due but all our notices are falling on deaf ear and now the company is also backtracking on their promise of jobs and compensation,” said Devi.

Echoing her sentiments, Mansa Tuddu said, “We resorted to the extreme step of carrying out armed demonstration outside the project site of the colliery as all our earlier efforts to draw attention by giving notices have failed.”

Earlier, landowners at Muraidih had also carried out protests on several occasions including one in February last year after which the BCCL management had promised to consider their demands. However, the armed protest was carried out as their promises were not fulfilled.

“We have pacified the protesters in view of the disaster management act in place and convinced them to submit a written demand” said Manish Kumar Dubey, Assistant Sub Inspector of Barora Police station.

Manager of BCCL Muraidih Colliery, Dhivar, said “The land acquisition has been carried out during the launch of the colliery following all due procedure but we will look into the objections of people who carried out the protest today.”