Anti-POSCO activists observe black week

Jagatsinghpur, June 22: Thousands of anti-POSCO agitators, including women and children of Dhinkia, Nuagaon and Gadakujang Gram Panchayats here observed 'Black Week' by wearing black badges and organising a massive rally in their village.

The 'Black Week' was observed to protest the signing of the MoU by the South Korea steel major POSCO with the Orissa government for setting up of a mega steel plant in their area displacing thousands of them from their homeland.

Addressing the rally, Leader of Opposition and former Chief Minister J.B. Pattnaik criticised the Naveen Patnaik government for 'auctioning national property' to the MNCs and announced that he would oppose the establishment of the mega steel project tooth and nail in the area.

The senior Congress leader said he was neither against industrialisation nor against the POSCO project but the motive of Naveen Patnaik government to set up POSCO by taking away the fertile land should be opposed.

''The Naveen Patnaik government has been casting its covetous and avaricious eyes on the fertile land, including the Jatadhari river mouth to establish the steel plant and to set up a captive port,'' he maintained.

The Leader of Opposition said his party would support the on-going protest movement by the villagers against displacement from their homestead and fertile land.

Orissa Gana Parishad MLA Arun Dey said they were opposing POSCO project as it was against the interest of the country as well as the state.

POSCO Pratirodh Samiti President Abhaya Sahu while addressing the rally said the villagers, including women and children of the area had blocked the area for last two years in Dhinkia, Nuagaon and Gadakujang pachayats by erecting a dozen of wooden gates.

The villagers, he further said, had prevented the police and government officials from entering into their villages to conduct survey work and acquire their lands for POSCO project.

Sahu said the villagers were determined not to allow any officials to enter into their villages and were prepared to face any consequences for their action.

''The state government has no rights to take away the land displacing thousands of people in the name of industrialisation,'' said he.

CPI State Secretary Dibakar Nayak, SUCI MLA Sambhunath Nayak, Congress MLA Umesh Swain and CPI leader Abani Baral also attended the rally and extended their full support to the villagers in their struggle against the POSCO project in their area.

UNI