Over 30 members of the Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR) on Tuesday visited at least 10 villages in the proposed Deocha-Pachami coal mine area and said they would submit a report to chief minister Mamata Banerjee, on the “opposition of local people” to the project.

“We have spoken to a lot of people, including the tribal populace, in several villages across the proposed Deocha-Pachami coal mine area where everyone said they didn’t want a coal mine here. We observed that police in uniform and plainclothes kept continuous watch on us. We will report to the chief minister what we observed today (Tuesday),” said Ranjit Sur, a state secretariat member of the APDR who visited three villages of Deocha-Pachami on Tuesday.

Divided in four groups, the APDR teams moved around Deocha-Pachami and spoke to the people on Tuesday.

“We earlier protested against police atrocities on women in Dewanganj village. Today (Tuesday) we interacted with the people,” said Sailen Mishra, a leader of the APDR in Birbhum.

Senior police and district officials earlier said a few groups were trying to instigate villagers against the government’s proposed coal mine.

“Attempts of outsiders are on. We are keeping a vigil on activities here. If there is any trouble, we will talk to villagers directly,” said a police officer.

The APDR team will meet Birbhum officials, including district magistrate Bidhan Ray, in Suri on Friday, Sur said.

In the run-up to the APDR’s visit, there have been three anti-coal mine meetings in Dewanganj and Harinsigha. At the same time, over 150 landowners pledged to give their land to the government for the coal mine.