The villagers of Dhinkia and Gobindpur, the two of the strongholds of anti-Posco movement in the Posco project site area, have strongly reacted to the decision of their leaders to allow socio-economic and horticulture survey for the project in their villages.
These villagers had been stiffly resisting the survey work for last five years under the banner of Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS).
However, the PPSS leaders led by its president Abhay Sahoo, who met chief minister Naveen Patnaik in Bhubaneswar yesterday, have agreed to allow the survey to continue in the Posco affected villages, including Dhinkia and Gobindpur, much to the dismay of their followers.
Feeling hurt over the development, a woman activist of Patana village, Jostna Mohanty, said, “how could our leaders sell their conscience before the government when they had been so belligerently opposing the land acquisition for the Posco plant and protesting the entry of officials for survey”.
Even during the previous survey in 2008, Dhinkia was left out, she said, adding, “what was the need of such overtures from our leaders when the administration, with a view to not to escalate tension, had no plans to enter this village during the current exercise as well”.
This sentiment is echoed by other villagers who are identified with the anti-Posco camp.
They feel allowing the survey team to enter their villages is the beginning of the fall of their resistance.
Also Read
The process of survey itself will create a firm belief in the psyche of the villagers that Posco plant is going to come and thus weaken their agitation.
“So it was futile to be part of this movement which has spread hatred, distrust and violence among the villages on the lines of supporting and opposing the project all these years”, laments Sabita Mandal, who had lost her husband Dula Mandal in a clash between anti and pro-Posco camps.
On the contrary, pro-Posco families expressed their joy over the PPSS decision on the conduct of peaceful survey in the area which, they feel, will finally lead to the establishment of Posco project. Meanwhile, the villagers of Godindpur who had sealed the entry of the village by erecting barricades have lifted the same to facilitate the entry of official teams for survey.
In a reciprocal gesture the administration has withdrawn the police forces from Gobindpur and Nuagaon areas.
The district collector Narayan Jena informed that survey in the Posco site area will resume from 17th June without police depXloyment.
During the meeting with PPSS leaders yesterday, chief minister has agreed to visit Posco-hit villages soon to take stock of the extent of loss of livelihood and scale of displacement likely to be brought about by the project.