Medha resorts to dharna before Orissa CM's house

Bhubaneswar, Oct 15: Hundreds of anti POSCO agitators, led by social activist Medha Patkar, today staged a dharna before Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's residence here, demanding an open debate on the establishment of POSCO Steel project in Paradip.

Ms Patkar yesterday threatened to intensify the agitation against the POSCO project if Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik did not discuss the issue with the agitators sitting on dharna for the past 20 days by this morning.

Before the deadline, hundreds of activists of the Rashtriya Yuva Sangathan and Navanirman Samiti proceeded to the Naveen Nivas from the M G Marg where they were sitting on dharna to protest the "apathetic" attitude of the Chief Minister.

Police were caught unaware of the move of the protestors to march to the Naveen Nivas and could not prevent them to occupy the road leading to the Chief Minister's residence.

Police immediately swung into action ands arrested 50 of the demonstrators from the spot. This peeved the activists, who started raising slogan against the Chief Minister.

Ms Patkar was asked to meet the Chief Minister with some of her activists to hold discussion but she demanded that the demonstrators be released first before any discussion with the Chief Minister.

Stalemate prevailed as Ms Patkar and anti POSCO agitators remained adamant in their stand and continued to stage demonstration before the Naveen Niwas amid heavy police deployment. Yesterday while addressing the activists Ms Patkar said, '' It is shocking that the Chief Minister has not responded to the proposal for an open debate on POSCO project.Is the Chief Minister ashamed or scared of the activists? '' She asked Mr Pattnaik either to come to the agitation site or send his representatives to have a dialogue with the activists within 18 hours or face an intensified agitation.

''If the Chief Minister does not turn up for discussion,we will be forced to intensify the agitation and make it a national movement,'' she warned.

Ms Patkar said she had visited the site of the steel plant proposed by the south Korea steel major POSCO, which would displace thousands of people from their land.

She also opposed the SEZ status accorded to the POSCO project.

UNI

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