A public convention held in West Bengal’s Birbhum district in the Siuri area opposed the Deocha Pachami coal mining project. The locals, activists, and politicians participating in the mass convention held on Friday (September 19, 2025) alleged illegal land acquisition in the project and the displacement of Adivasi families without fair compensation.
Economist, activist turned politician Prasenjit Bose, veteran Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury led the convention along with local activists.
“Thousands of Adivasi, Dalit, and minority families are living in fear of displacement. The culture and existence of a society dependent on water, forest and land is being pushed to the brink of destruction,” an official statement from the convention stated. The local activists also said that this mining project will create a long-term water crisis in the area added to the already ongoing air and water pollution in the area due to the mining work.
Activists and politicians present at the convention demanded that a judicial enquiry be conducted into the whole project for corruption and sought for the work to be stopped immediately.
According to many experts, although the mineable coal reserves in Deocha-Pachami are estimated to be 1200 million tonnes, the coal layer here is buried under a basalt layer that is 90 to 245 metres thick.
