Rasta roko for peace in POSCO site in Orissa

Paradeep, July 2 (UNI) Hundreds of villagers today resorted to rasta roko agitation, demanding restoration of peace in the villages proposed for the South Korea steel major POSCO's mega steel plant.

Traffic movement came to a grinding halt for several hours as the demonstrators sat on dharna on the Paradeep-Daitary Express Highway and Paradeep-Cuttack road near Bhuttumundai in support of their demands.

The demonstrators mostly included villagers belonging to 42 families, who had been taking shelter at Bhuttamundai for the past ten days after fearing repression from the anti-POSCO agitators for supporting the mega steel plant in their area.

Under the banner of ''Prastabita POSCO Bisthapita Sangha''(PPBS), the villagers blocked the movement of the vehicular traffic for four hours on the Paradeep-Daitary Express High way and Cuttack-Paradeep main road.

According to PPBS leader Tamil Pradhan, the demonstrators urged the Jagatsinghpur district administration and the state government to restore peace in Dhinkia, Gadakujana and Nuagaon gram Panchayat, the site for the POSCO project.

The villagers alleged that anti-POSCO agitatiors had virtually let loose a reign of terror in the villages by torturing those supporting the steel plant and demanded to arrest the culprits against whom about 70 criminal cases were pending in Kujanga police station.

The agitators also demanded that all the 42 families of Patana taking shelter in Bhuttumundai following assault by the anti-POSCO supporters should be allowed to return to their houses and urged the government to take steps on a war footing.

The agitators later withdrew the rasta roko agitation after the District Magistrate and the Superintendent of Police arrived at the spot and assured the villagers of taking steps for the return of 42 families of Patna village.

At least six platoons of police force were deployed in the area to avert any untoward incident during the road blockade agitation.

Over 2000 iron-ore and chromites ore laden trucks were stranded for hours during the road blockade.

When contacted POSCO Pratirodha Sangram Samiti leader Abhya Sahu alleged that most of the agitators were not the natives of Dhinkia, Nuagaon and GadaKujanga.

UNI