The 'Solidarity Day' observed by the Left parties as a mark of nationwide protest against the alleged forcible land acquisition for the Posco project turned out to be a damp squib at the project site.
Though the 'Solidarity Day' was observed in different states and also in Bhubaneswar and some districts of Orissa, nothing was observed at the Posco affected areas of Kujang, Paradip and Erasama.
When asked, the CPI district unit secretary Sasibhusan Swain said, “Our leaders including myself were busy in state level protest as a result of which our party has failed to observe ‘Solidarity Day’ in block and district levels today.”
The declaration of the Left parties to observe this day had no impact at the block and district levels in Jagatsinghpur district where work on the Posco project is going on.
Local BJD leaders have slammed the left parties stating that CPI has no base at the Posco project areas.
Senior BJD leader cum trade union leader Sudhakar Mantry said, “People of Jagatsinghpur district have expressed solidarity in favour of the Posco project and as a result, the land acquisition process has been completed in Nuagaon and Gadkujang panchayats peacefully. They did not express their solidarity against the Posco project and so the stir against Posco project could not survive in this district.”
He alleged the outsiders were misleading the locals of Dhinkia and Gobindpur and claimed that the stir against the Posco project by these locals will be slowed down in the future.
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Nirvaya Samantray, secretary of United Action Committee (UAC), a pro-Posco outfit said, “The agitation against the Posco project has been only confined to Dhinkia and Gobindpur villages. The state and national level leaders are coming to Gobindpur only to create their image or highlight their party for the upcoming panchayat and assembly elections but not to mobilize mass support against the Posco project.”
Meanwhile, the villagers of Gobindpur and Dhinkia led by PPSS ( Posco Pratirodha Sangram Samiti ) leader Abhaya Sahu staged a dharna by forming human barricade with the children of Dhinkia and Patana to prevent the entry of police and officials to stop forcible land acquisition in Gobindpur.
On the other hand, former Dhinkia sarpanch Sisir Mohapatra said, the villagers of Dhinkia panchayat have committed to back PPSS to protest the Posco project and so we are least concerned to seek solidarity from others.