People arrested for obstructing Land acquisition for 'POSCO'

Nksagar-Odisha, more than 32 persons arrested today for obstructing the land acquisition process for the Rs 52,000 crore Posco steel project near Paradip in Jagatsinghpur district. The incident took place when activists of United Action Committee, which was earlier supporting the biggest Foreign Direct Investment project in the country, were trying to block the entry route to Gada Kujanga opposing land acquisition work by the officials. The president of the United Action Committee Anadi Rout and other arrested persons have been taken into police custody at Paradip. Tension prevailed in Posco project site area following arrest of the local villagers. The United Action Committee has turned hostile since the first day of land acquisition yesterday as the Odisha Government failed to meet their demands.

Orissa government's move to resume land acquisition for Posco steel plant from Wednesday faced fresh trouble as villagers supporting the project announced "non-cooperation" and opponents demanded relocation of the proposed site. "Though we want establishment of Posco steel plant here, we will not cooperate with the administration's efforts of land acquisition process unless our demands are fulfilled," United Action Committee (UAC) president Anadi Charan Rout told PTI, after attending a marathon meeting between the pro-project group and Jagatsinghpur district administration. "The villagers want more compensation. I will take up the matter with the government. However, we have requested them to cooperate the administration in land acquisition scheduled to resume from May 18," District Collector N C Jena said. The land acquisition process for Posco was halted last year in view of a cease work order from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest.


However, the officials destroyed five betel vines today in the process of land acquisition and had to return as no other farmer turned up to identify their land.
Meanwhile, the activists of Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS), a body opposing the Posco project, have blocked the road to Dhinkia and Gobindpur, while supporters of Bhitamati Suraksha Manch staged a blockade near Nuagaon. More than 700 police personnel have been deployed in Balitutha, Gobindpur, Gada Kujanga, Nuagaon and other areas in order to ensure smooth land acquisition work and prevent any untoward incident.