Bandatatya vows to continue stir till Dow project is scrapped

The scene in front of Yerawada Central prison in Pune was akin to a religious celebration when Bandatatya Karadkar, Warkari sect leader spearheading the anti-Dow stir, came out of the jail after being released on bail.

Hundreds of Warkaris (devotees of Lord Vitthal) who had gathered outside the prison premises late last evening, chanted name of Vitthal in chorus as Karadkar declared the sects resolve to oppose the setting up of the Dow Chemicals unit near Shinde village in the district.

Karadkar along with seven other Warkaris had been arrested on September 20 after the agitation turned violent.

The Warkaris being supported by various social organisations and political parties, are demanding scrapping of the project on the ground that it would allegedly pollute the region that houses the pilgrim town of Dehu from where the palanquin of revered Marathi Sant Tukaram is taken annually to Pandharpur.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, who is currently on a Europe tour, issued a directive in transit on Sunday to suspend work of the chemical unit for a month as the Warkaris intensified their stir against the facility under construction.

The company has said that its facility in the district was meant to be a research and development unit and would not lead to any environmental degradation of the area.