Torgatta protesters ‘no’ to step out for meeting

NAGPUR: The hope that the district administration and police department will convince anti-mining protesters at Torgatta at the Gadchiroli-Chhattisgarh border to step out of the agitation venue to meet senior officials of revenue department at Etapalli were dashed on Tuesday.
Some 10 key protesters and leaders had been approached by senior police and revenue officials to visit the additional collector office at Etapalli on Monday. The rest of the protesters have refused to toe the line and demanded the government officials come to Torgatta, leading to a deadlock-like situation now.
The protesters had gone to meet an additional collector in Gadchiroli last week with their demands to stop mining proposals at Damkondvahi, Surjagarh expansion. Senior tribal leader and former zilla parishad member Sainu Gota said there is no reason for the officials to fear the tribals.