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Anticipating trouble during the rally, the administration has clamped Section 144 of CrPC at Patana village barring congregation of people.
District collector, Satya Kumar Mallick said, "Our teams on Monday pulled down 24 betel vines on encroached government land in Gobindpur village with cooperation of villagers. Compensation amount of Rs 43.68 lakh was disbursed to betel vine losers and this process was conducted smoothly without any untoward incident."
Sources said, the land acquisition process is likely to continue till March 6 before being discontinued for the second phase of Budget session of the assembly, which begins from March 7.
Police forces were deployed in the area to provide security to the betel vine losers who have been threatened by anti-Posco of dire consequence if they handed over their betel vines for the steel project.
Meanwhile, Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS), the organisation spearheading the agitation against the South Korean company, mobilized its supporters to hold a protest meeting at Patana village tomorrow. This meeting is significant as the police allege that three persons who died in the Saturday's blast were victims of accidental bursting of the crude bombs they were preparing to create disturbance during land acquisition drive. PPSS has denied the charges and said, three of its supporters died when the pro-project activists lobbed bombs at them.
Many leaders of opposition parties like Congress, BJP, CPI, CPM, Forward Bloc, JMM, RJD and Samajwadi party and social activists are likely to join the PPSS protest meeting.
However, the district administration on Monday clamped Section 144 of CrPC within a 3 km radius of Patana village to prevent the congregation.
District superintendent of police, Satyabrat Bhoi said, "The situation at Patana and Gobindpur was under control. Anticipating trouble, the administration has imposed prohibitory order and deployed adequate police force to maintain law and order."
Meanwhile, a local villager, Ranjan Burdhan has lodged an FIR at Abhayachandpur police station regarding the bomb blast, on the basis of which police have registered a case against PPSS leader Abhay Sahu and his colleague, Surendra Das for death of three persons in the explosion. But surprisingly, no FIR has been lodged by the family members of the victims.
