Health Project: Prohibitory orders imposed in Ranchi’s Nagri ahead of protest over land acquisition

Ranchi, Aug 23 (PTI) A day before tribal outfits’ protest over land acquisition for a multi-crore health project in Jharkhand's Ranchi, the administration clamped prohibitory orders on Saturday, banning public gathering in Nagri area in the state's capital.

Farmers, land owners and over 20 tribal groups have announced 'Hal Joto, Ropa Ropo' (plough field, plant saplings) protest on Sunday at the site where the Rs 1,000-crore RIMS-2 hospital project has been proposed.

RIMS-2 refers to the expansion of the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), a premier health facility in the state.

Former Jharkhand chief minister and senior BJP leader Champai Soren also announced that he would join the agitation.

Ranchi sub-divisional officer Utkarsh Kumar said prohibitory orders under section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) have been imposed within a 200-meter radius of the proposed RIMS-2 site located in Nagri.

“The demarcation and fencing work for the proposed RIMS-2 site in Nagri Mauja under the Kanke circle has been completed. It was observed that crowds are gathering at the site, and there is a possibility of some anti-social elements attempting to enter the fenced area and disrupt law and order,” according to a statement issued by the Ranchi administration on Saturday.

The prohibitory orders ban public meetings and gatherings of five or more people within the specified perimeter.

Additionally, carrying arms, ammunition, explosives and traditional weapons such as lathis, spears, bows and arrows is prohibited and using loudspeakers is barred in the area, the official release said.

Kumar said these guidelines have been effective for the next two months.

Soren, in a press conference on August 19, alleged that land was forcibly acquired by the government and farmers were stopped from tilling their land by fencing the area.

Soren also claimed that landowners were neither given any acquisition notice nor compensation. PTI SAN SAN BDC