Maharashtra: Amid protests, Uddhav Thackeray to visit Barsu next week

Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray will visit Barsu village in Maharashtra's coastal Ratnagiri district in the first week of May in the wake of protests by local residents against a proposed oil refinery, a party leader said on Thursday.

The residents of Barsu are opposing the refinery proposed to be set up in their village. On Tuesday, more than 111 people, mostly women, were arrested after they tried to block a road in Barsu and Solgaon areas and lay on the ground to stop government vehicles from entering the proposed site of the refinery.

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) has come out in support of the local residents and demanded an immediate end to "atrocities" against protesters. The party has also decided to launch an agitation against the proposed refinery.

Addressing a press conference here, Sena (UBT) MP Vinayak Raut said Thackeray will visit Barsu village in the first week of May.

He alleged that the protesters were being suppressed and even the media was being prevented from covering the protests.

"The authorities should talk to the protesters, but the government is running away from holding a dialogue," said Raut, who represents the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg Lok Sabha constituency.