Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday said petroglyphs were found at Barsu in Ratnagiri district, the focal point for the protest by a section of people against a proposed mega oil refinery project, and appealed to local people not to sell their land.Addressing a public meeting here, Raj Thackeray said the Petroglyphs found here are still being studied and analysed and as per international norms, no development activities can be carried out in its vicinity.
The astounding Petroglyphs in and around Barsu were discovered in 2012 and have already made it to the Unesco's tentative list of World Heritage Sites and locals now fear that if the RRPCL comes up here, this pre-historic site would be lost forever, he said as a caution to the Central and state governments.Interestingly, former Chief Minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray went around the Petroglyphs site along with the Barsu villagers who are opposing the refinery project."When the RRPCL project was announced for Barsu, I was very upset. Why can't such big projects go to Goa or Kerala? The beautiful Konkan is intended only for tourism. Only Konkan tourism is sufficient to support the entire (economy) of Maharashtra," Raj Thackeray said.He warned the people of Konkan against selling off their valuable land at cheap rates "to politicians and businessmen who are aware of big projects coming up all around and then make huge profits from your land".The MNS chief strongly advised Konkanis that henceforth, if anybody wants to buy out their beautiful and fertile lands, "first ask them what's the purpose" before parting with it, otherwise "you will have nothing but regrets".
Raj's unexpected stance -- which could be music to the locals and the Shiv Sena (UBT) -- may prove to be jarring for the ruling Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party which has been hoping for a partnership with the MNS.ronically, during the day, former Chief Minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray, visited Barsu where he threw his full lot with the people opposing the refinery project, even as the BJP launched a sharp attack on him.