Ten more pro-Posco families return to their village

Ten more pro-Posco families, who had left their homes seven years ago, returned to their native place from a transit camp set up by the steel company in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur district, raising the number of such families to 40 today, official sources said.
With this, 12 other families are now left in the transit camp set up by the South Korean steel major near its proposed plant site as a total of 52 families had to leave their homes in June 2007 at the peak of anti-Posco agitation. Thirty families had returned to their homes on June 7, Additional District Magistrate, Paradip, Ramakrushna Sahu said.

The families were staying at the camp at Badagabapur and returned to their villages under Dhinkia gram panchayat. Each family would be paid Rs 2400 and given a polythene sheet, Sahu said.
The families were returning with the consent of the village committee. The district administration would provide assistance for their rehabilitation, he said.
The occupants of the transit camp, who are dubbed as supporters of Posco plant, had been virtually driven out of their houses allegedly by anti-project activists after clashes between them ahead of the panchayat elections in June 2007.
Joyous over their homecoming, the families said their return was possible after talks with village seniors and assurance from Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) that no harm would be done to them.

"We had to leave our homes. We are going back as PPSS has promised to extend cooperation for our rehabilitation," said Suresh Muduli, one of those leaving the camp.
Similar views were expressed by Madha Mohanty, Ranjan Mohanty and Pahali Muduli.