The Jagatsinghpur district administration suspended work at the site selected for the proposed Posco steel plant project for the third day on Monday, following Saturday's clash between the police and agitating villagers.
At least eight persons, including six women, were injured in the lathicharge on agitating residents of Nuagaon gram panchayat who strongly resisted tree cutting by the administration near their village to acquire land for the proposed steel mill.
According to sources, the administration did not venture to resume work as top officials were busy making changes in their strategy of police deployment as well organising a meeting of the Rehabilitation and Peripheral Development Advisory Committee (RPDAC) soon to discuss increasing compensation packages and providing jobs for people facing displacement.
Many platoons of policemen who were sent to Puri for deployment during the Rath Yatra have returned to Jagatsinghpur to accompany the administration officials engaged in land acquisition, land levelling and boundary wall construction work in the site earmarked for the steel plant and captive power plant of Posco in the three gram panchayats of Dhinkia, Nuagaon and Gadakujang.
A few school buildings and other facilities outside the project area have been chosen for use as police camps and work at the site may resume in a day or two, according to sources in the administration.
The administration, however, has so far not been able to find ways to put an end to the dharna being staged by the Posco Prartirodh Sangram Samiti outside Gobindpur village since June 2.