The anti-Posco agitation, earlier limited to one of the three panchayats affected by the mega steel project of the South Korean firm, has spread to two other panchayats thanks to the indifference of the administration in fulfilling the long standing demands of the pro-project people in these areas.
As a result, the villagers in Nuagaon and Gadakujang panchayats who had extended their support to land acquisition for the project a few days back, have now turned their ire against the administration and vehemently opposed the project related work in these two panchayats.
The villagers had stopped boundary wall construction, demarcation and ground leveling for rehabilitation colony of the Posco project at Polang in Nuagaon panchayat yesterday. They, today, stalled felling of trees in the acquired land at Noliasahi in Gadakujang panchayat.
The district revenue officials led by sub collector Murlidhar Mallick and police force, who had gone to Noliasahi to chop down about 400 trees to clear the land for the project, had to return empty handed due to protest by the villagers.
The villagers are agitating to press for fulfillment of their six-point charter of demands. The key demands included providing jobs to one member of each project affected family, changing the method of measurement of betel vines and raising compensation for homestead as well as agricultural land.
Meanwhile, the state chief secretary BK Patnaik said, “the Posco project will definitely be set up, but through a peaceful route”. He added, out of total land required for the project, 3,500 acres are government land and half of the land has been acquired.
On increasing compensation to the villagers, he said, the Rehabilitation and Periphery Development Advisory Committee (RPDAC) has already announced a compensation package for the affected villagers.
Asked if the there will be intervention at the chief minister’s level to defuse agitation in the Posco site, Patnaik said, there is no such proposal and the district administration is holding discussion with the locals on a daily basis. “The work on the Posco project has moved ahead and the MoU with the company, which had expired last year, will be renewed within next 15 days”, he pointed out.
It may be noted the ground work on the project is going on over 1800 acres of land acquired in Nuagaon and Gadkujang panchayts.
However, peeved with the administration for non-fulfillment of their demands, the villagers of Nuagaon led by Dhirendra Pallei, working president of United Action Committee, a pro-Posco outfit, conducted a meeting at Mangla Peeth where villagers vowed to intensify the stir unless their demands are met.
UAC leader, Tamil Pradhan said “the villagers of Nuagaon and Gadkujang have lost their patience as none of their demands has been acceded since last six years. The villagers have vowed to stall demarcation and construction work for indefinite period’.
‘UAC wanted written statement from the administration regarding the fulfillment of their demands or convening of RPDAC meeting to solve their demands but our pleas have been ignored forcing us to intensify our stir”, he added.
At Gobindpur in Dhinkia panchayat, the stronghold of anti-Posco brigade, hundreds of villagers including women and children continued their dharna under the banner of Posco Pratirodha Sangram Samiti (PPSS) to prevent the entry of police and district officials for “forcible” land acquisition. Congress leaders Umesh Swain, Prasad Harichandan and Jayant Biswal visited the dharna site at Gobindpur and expressed their solidarity with the agitators.
