Anti POSCO agitators dig Jatadhar mouth

Paradeep, Jun 20 (UNI) With spades and shovels in their hands hundreds of anti-POSCO agitators under the banner of Jatadhar Surakhya Committee today cleared the sediments deposited at the Jatadhar river mouth to mitigate the water logging problem in Jagatsinghpur district According to the locals the sedimentation in the mouth of Jatadhar had led to water logging over thousands of acres of agriculture land round the year.

The fishermen in the area were deprived of sufficient fish catch and the villagers encountered hardship during the rainy season as they had to walk on the road in knee deep water due to lack of drainage facilities.

Anti-POSCO leader Abhaya Sahoo, who led the march, said the villagers accepted the challenge to carry out the digging work of Jatadhar river mouth.

''Many villagers have also extended their helping hands to provide food and water to the villagers engaged in desilting the river mouth,'' Mr Sahoo said.

''The South Korean steel company POSCO is planning to build a port at Jatadhari for its proposed 12 million tonne mega steel plant near Paradeep for which the authority had refused to dredge the river mouth,'' the anti-POSCO leader added.

UNI XC DP RC VP0145