Kolkata intellectuals organise protest march on Nandigram issue

Kolkata, Mar 20 (UNI) Joining the bandwagon of unabated protest, intellectuals in Kolkata today hit the streets, taking out a ''silent''procession in protest against the March 14 Nandigram massacre.

Organised under the banner of ''Intellectual Forum'', the protesters carrying posters and banners and wearing black badges marched from the Academy of Fine Arts to Gandhi statue in Central Kolkata covering about 3 km distance.

Explaining the reason behind organising the protest march after remaining silent for long on various other people-related issues, renowned artistes Subhaprasanna and Jogen Chowdhury and well- known theatre personality Bibhas Chakraborty along with students from the Government Arts College squarly blamed the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government for ''masterminding'' the killing of innocent farmers in the name of industrialisation.

Venting their anger on the way the industrial rejuvenation programme was being carried out by the ruling Left Front in the state, the intellectuals alleged that the Nandigram incident had exposed that the government did not respect human values and had forfeited its right to govern.

Also demanding immediate resignation of the Chief Minister owning moral responsibility of the Nandigram massacre, Subhaprassana said, '' We hang our heads in shame. '' Meanwhile, a seven-member West Bengal Womens' Commission delegation, led by its chairperson Josodhara Bagchi, today visited the women victims in Nandigram and Tamluk hospitals and gave a patient hearing to their experiences.

About 20 women were admitted to these two hospitals after the March 14 incident.

UNI