37 injured in clash over cashew forest ownership on Jagatsinghpur-Puri border

JAGATSINGHPUR: At least 37 people suffered injuries after residents of two villages located on the border of Jagatsinghpur and Puri districts clashed over ownership of cashew forest at Tetua under Balikuda tehsil here on Saturday.

To prevent further escalation, the administration of both the districts have imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS at the disputed land on Devi river bed.

Sources said villagers of Tarasahi in Jagatsinghpur’s Balikuda tehsil have been cultivating cashew crops on around 115 acre of forest land in Tetua village under Apandara revenue circle for over 100 years. However, residents of Balidia village under Astaranga tehsil in Puri also lay claim over the forest land, asserting that it falls under their jurisdiction. Despite objections from Tarasahi villagers, Balidia residents are reportedly cultivating cashew on the disputed land as well.

Tensions escalated on Saturday when Rushinath Behera (60) from Tarasahi along with other villagers went to harvest cashew nuts from the disputed site. They were reportedly attacked by a group of nearly 150 armed residents of Balidia. Around 20 villagers from Tarasahi sustained injuries in the attack and were admitted to the district headquarters hospital in Jagatsinghpur. An FIR was lodged in Balikuda police station in this connection.

On the other hand, Balidia residents claimed around 250-300 villagers of Tarasahi armed with deadly weapons entered the cashew plantation area and assaulted them. At least 17 Balidia villagers suffered injuries and were admitted to Astaranga community health centre. A case was also registered in Astaranga police station in this connection.

Tarasahi sarpanch Rajkishore Behera said villagers have sought the administration’s intervention to resolve the long-standing dispute over demarcation of the cashew forest land on multiple occasions in the past. Delay in demarcation of the boundary of the two villages triggered the violent clash, he said.

Astaranga IIC Rajesh Baliarsingh confirmed that 17 people from Balidia were injured in the clash. He said the case has been transferred to Balikuda police station for further investigation. “The situation remains tense. Prohibitory orders under section 163 of BNSS have been clamped at the disputed site to prevent further violence,” he added.

Balikuda tehsildar Bikash Ranjan said after the clash, the administration imposed prohibitory orders at six plots of the disputed land, restricting gatherings of more than five persons. “The Jagatsinghpur collector has urged the Puri district administration to resolve the issue through mutual discussion. We hope the matter will be settled amicably soon,” the tehsildar added.