APRIL 13, 2007
Khaufpur survivors groups today took out a procession in the city against an attempt by Indian magnate ‘Ratty’ Dada, who heads the multi-billion Dadagiri salt, steel and tea empire, to free the Kampani of its undischarged Khaufpur liabilities.
The groups used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain private letters from the Kampani CEO to India’s ambassador to the UN. The letters reveal that Dada is trying to broker a deal whereby the Kampani’s liability for Khaufpur is dropped in return for a 300 crore investment in a new chemical complex to be jointly run between Dadagiri and the American Chemical Company.
The survivors groups juloos was headed by the statue of a dog which symbolically urinated on a sack containing Dada tea and salt packets. Shopkeepers came out to throw their stocks of Dadagiri products into the sack.
The dog statue was modelled on Jara, the dog belonging to the street urchin, Animal, whose life story, recently published in the UK, has created a storm of controversy in Khaufpur with state ministers calling for it to be banned.
At a press conference in Kolkata, an unapologetic Dada said, ‘We need investment in this country, it is ridiculous to let a 20 year old grievance involving a handful of people continue to stand in the way of progress.
Khaufpur activist Nisha Punekar replied, “26,000 people is not a handful of people. Dada should first clear up the mess that his Dadagiri has created in Jamshedpur and other places all over India”.
