The protest against the Rs 54,000-crore Posco steel project has taken a new turn with women activists throwing their weight behind the stir.
The Utkal Mahila Samiti conducted a ‘Mahila Samabesh’ on Saturday at Balitutha, the entry point to the Posco project, to unite all women leaders from different parts of Orissa and from outside to intensity the stir against the project.
Women leaders from different parts of the state congregated at Balitutha where Posco Pratirodha Sangram Samiti (PPSS), the organization spearheading the anti-Posco movement in the state, has been demonstrating a 24-hour mass dharana since January 26.
The women leaders have decided to oppose the land acquisition and displacement of thousands of people for the establishment of Posco project. These leaders are determined to make Posco a national issue.
Local leaders alleged that police forces have been deployed at Badgabpur to make use of armed forces in land acquisition for the Posco project.
CPI leader Amarjeet Kaur who attended the meet said that the establishment of Posco's captive port at Jatadhari river mouth will weaken the Paradip port.
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Kaur alleged that the Orissa chief minister was selling minerals and water to industries at the cost of the farming community and vowed to fight against the Posco project with cooperation of the local villagers.
Other women leaders like state general secretary of Utkal Mahila Samiti Banlata Jena and PPSS leader Manorama Khatua were present at the meeting.
Meeting deferred
The Posco meeting scheduled to be held on Saturday at Paradip to finalize the compensation towards loss of betel vines and rehabilitation package of the people has been deferred. The meeting which was to be chaired by Priyabrata Pattnaik, chairman and managing director, Orissa Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco), had to be deferred as Patnaik could not turn up because of some other meeting.
Meanwhile, the members of United Action Committee (UAC), a purportedly pro-Posco outfit had decided to boycott the meeting. Recently, the UAC members in Nuagaon panchayat had refused to apply for compensation provided by Posco unless their 29-point charter of demands is fulfilled.
Their demands include restoring normalcy in trouble torn Dhinkia and Gobindpur villages, resettlement of 70 families of Dhinkia and withdrawal of police forces illegally deployed in the peaceful zones. In parallel, the Posco Pratirodha Sangram Samiti (PPSS), the organization spearheading the anti-Posco movement, has urged the villagers of Dhinkia not to receive the application forms pertaining to compensation as a mark of protest against the Posco project.It may be noted that the district administration has invited application forms from the betel vine losers from February 1-10 for disbursement of compensation.