Day after Raj warning, MNS workers ransack office of Nanar refinery project in Maharashtra

A day after Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray expressed his opposition to the Nanar refinery project in Konkan, his workers ransacked the project office at Tardeo on Monday. Police said five people have been detained in connection with the incident.

Four MNS workers at 3.15pm barged into the Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited office located on the second floor of the commercial centre at AC Marketand ransacked it. “It was a signal that we will not allow this project to take place. This was just a trailer and the government should understand it,” said former MNS corporator Santosh Dhuri.

The workers barged into the office with stones in their hands and caught the security guard off guard. They then picked up the chairs inside the project office and started smashing the glasses around them. They also threw the furniture around before running away.

Virendra Mishra, deputy commissioner of police, zone 3, said, “We have detained five people who were involved in the vandalising and procedure to register a case is going on. A case for rioting and different sections of the Indian Penal Code will be registered by late night and further action will be taken accordingly.”

At a public meeting on Sunday, Raj Thackeray had opposed the proposed refinery project. “We will not allow the Nanar project to take place in Konkan. If the government wants, they can shift the project to the moon but not in Konkan,” said Raj.

The controversial project has been virtually opposed by every party — Shiv Sena, Congress, MNS and the MNS except the BJP. Here the world’s biggest oil producer, Saudi Aramco, will partner with a consortium of Indian state-run companies like Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum to set up the largest global refinery and petrochemical complex at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra.

However, the local residents have opposed this project saying it will destroy the ecosystem of the Konkan region and rob their livelihood. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has been a vocal advocate of the project, and has said it will usher prosperity in the region.