Hundreds of villagers belonging to Nuagaon panchayat in the proposed site of the Posco steel project near Paradip, today staged demonstration and mass dharna in front of the company’s office at Kujanga demanding compensation for destruction of betel vines.
These villagers, who are counted among the supporters of the project, threatened to turn hostile if their demands are not met.
It may be noted betel leaf (paan) farming is a profitable business in Kujang and Erasama block of Jagatsinghpur district. With growing demand for ‘Kujang Paan’ in southern Orissa and certain parts of Maharastra, Bihar, Jharkhand and other regions, more and more farmers are showing interest in betel leaf cultivation.
Local farmers claimed that the pattern of betel leaf cultivation in Kujang differs from that in other costal districts of Orissa including Puri and Balasore. The betel plant creeper ‘Naa’ used in cultivation is a unique variety not occurring elsewhere in the state. The total betel leaf business in the area is estimated at around Rs 10 cores per annum.
Estimates show that more than 2200 betel vines across three panchayats of Dhinkia, Nuagaon and Gadkujang are likely to be affected by the Posco steel plant. Out of these over 700 betel vines belong to the people of Nuagaon panchyat. As these villagers supported the Posco project, they had willingly destroyed their betel vines during socio–economic survey for the project in 2007-08. Some of the villagers also received compensation from Posco at that time. However, hundreds of villagers who destroyed their betel vines are now living in wretched condition without any alternative livelihood and adequate compensation from the company.
“The officials of Posco have cheated the farmers” alleged Dhadi Swain , a 70-year old farmer. “We grow yellowish betel leaf which is in great demand in Mumbai, Solapur, Varanasi, Ahmedabad, Kolakota and Delhi”, he added. Locals alleged that many youths have migrated to the adjoining areas of Kujang in search of employment following the demolition of the betel vines.
