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Opposition to POSCO mounts

BHUBANESWAR: A day after the police succeeded in entering the site earmarked for the proposed POSCO steel project, Jagatsinghpur district, in the wake of the attack on the anti-POSCO activists by those supporting the project, a number of political parties and people’s organisations held a daylong convention here on Friday to express their support to those opposing the steel project.

Addressing the gathering on the Mahatma Gandhi Marg, the leaders said that the agitation by people in the POSCO project site was not against the company, but for protection of people’s land and livelihood sources.

The speakers also demanded scrapping of the Special Economic Zone Act and handing over of large tracts of land and mines to various private companies at the cost of people’s livelihood sources.

They further underlined the need for coming together of various organisations opposing different mineral-based industrial projects at Kalinganagar, Keonjhar and Rayagada districts and the farmers of western Orissa who were opposing diversion of water from Hirakud reservoir to industry to oppose the ‘mindless and anti-people’ industrialisation.

All those who addressed the rally came down heavily on the Biju Janata Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party coalition government for showing ‘undue favours to corporate houses’.

They also held the State government responsible for the attack on the activists of POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti at Balitutha in Jagatsinghpur district by the supporters of the POSCO steel project on Thursday.

The political parties and organisations which participated in the convention include CPI(ML), CPI (ML-Liberation), CPI (ML-New democracy), Samajwadi Jana Parishad, Visthapan Virodhi Janamanch, POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti, Paschim Odisha Krushak Sangathan Samanwaya Samiti, Jatadhari Banchao Andolan, Loka Shakti Abhijan (Orissa), Lok Mukti Sangathan, Basti Suraksha Manch, Jeeban Jibika Surakhya Samiti and Lok Pakhya, Prakrutika Sampad Surakhya Parishad and Mittal Visthapan Virodhi Manch.

Meanwhile, tension continued to prevail in the three gram panchayats of Dhinkia, Nuagaon and Gadakujang in Jagatsinghpur.

Four platoons of police personnel have been deployed at Balitutha where supporters of the steel venture attacked the project opponents on Thursday afternoon.

Hundreds of villagers opposing the steel project since the State government signed the memorandum of understanding with the Korean company in June, 2005 were camping at Balitutha for the past several weeks to highlight their demand that the project should be shifted from their locality.

The attackers had hurled crude bombs at the project opponents and burnt their tents at their campsite. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik told presspersons that the police were trying to maintain law and order in the POSCO project area.

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