More unrest at Posco site
Bhubaneswar, Jan. 27: A day after chief minister Naveen Patnaik promised “all support” to South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in New Delhi to facilitate the 12-million-tonne Posco steel plant near Paradip, anti-displacement activists on Wednesday said they will not allow the company to acquire “even an inch of land” in the area.
The anti-displacement activists — led by Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) leader Abhaya Sahoo — reportedly held a meeting at an undisclosed location in the area and decided to intensify their stir in the coming days.Wednesday’s development comes close on the heels of a massive rally organised on Tuesday at Balituth, a part of the Posco project site, where CPI state leaders declared their “total support” to the resistance movement carried out by the local people.
Some members of the PPSS are also staging an indefinite dharna since Tuesday at Balituth opposing the project.
A sizeable number of local residents belonging to Gadakujanga, Dhinkia and Nuagaon gram panchayats have been opposing the Rs 52,000-crore project, contending that it would create mass displacement.
On Wednesday, curtailing his Republic Day programmes in the state, Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik had flown in a special flight to New Delhi to meet South Korean President Lee Myung-bak to discuss the fate of the Posco steel project.
Both the leaders met at Rashtrapati Bhavan in the evening and discussed for nearly one hour ways to expedite construction of the steel project.
Considered to be the largest-ever foreign direct investment in the country so far, the project has been in limbo because of protests by the local people.
After his meeting with South Korean President Bak, the chief minister told reporters he had assured Mr Bak all support from the state government to see through the project.
Akshaya Kumar Sahoo
Post new comment