Children belonging to the Posco affected villages of Gobindpur and Dhinkia, who are being used as human shields by the anti-Posco brigade, have defended the stir against land acquisition work before the visiting delegation of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).
They have voiced their opposition to the district administration's attempt to acquire land forcibly from the people.
A three-member delegation of NCPCR led by its member secretary Yogesh Dube visited Gobindpur and Dhinkia villages to investigate into the allegation of violation of children's rights by using kids in the anti-Posco agitation.
They interacted with children, kids, villagers, school teachers, anti-Posco leaders and district officials to probe into the issue. Hundreds of children skipped school today to stage a dharna on the outskirts of Gobindpur to prevent district officials and police to carry out land acquisition work in their village.
Replying to a query of the NCPCR delegation on the reason for children being at the forefront of the anti-Posco stir, Biswamber Mohanty, a student of Class-VIII at Dhinkia primary school said, “The government has taken our land forcibly at gun point and so we have decided to intensify the stir against Posco project by skipping school to protect out land and livelihood.” “If the state government and other organizations care for the wellbeing of children, they should withdraw armed police forces from our village by stop forcible land acquisition”, Prakash Burdhan, a student of Class-VI at Gobindpur.