Pro and anti-POSCO supporters clash: one killed

Paradeep, Jun 21 (UNI) Tension prevailed in Govindpur village after one anti-POSCO agitator died at the SCB Medical College and Hospital at Cuttack today.

The anti-POSCO agitators and the pro-POSCO supporters clashed yesterday in which three anti-POSCO agitators were injured. One of them succumbed to his injuries.

As the news of the death of Dula Mandal reached the villages hundreds of anti-POSCO agitators armed with weapons rushed to the Govindpur UP School and gheraoed the pro-POSCO supporters who were staying inside the school to take revenge triggering a charged atmosphere in the area.

The pro-POSCO supporters were staying in the school after being driven away by the anti-POSCO agitators from their villages for supporting the mega steel plant proposed by the South Korea steel major POSCO.

Sensing the trouble, the district authority has mobilised the force at Govindpur to prevent any untoward incident. The District Collector and Superintendent of Police have also rushed to the village to pacify the anti-POSCO agitators.

For about one year the anti-POSCO agitators and the pro-POSCO supporters have been fighting over the setting up of 12 million tonnes steel plant, proposed to be set up by the South Korea steel major POSCO, at an estimated cost of Rs 51,000 crore near Paradeep.

People from three panchayats , who will lose their prime fertile land are up in arms against the POSCO project and have been protesting against the steel plant on their land under the banner of POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samittee(PPSS).

The PPSS activists had forced nearly forty families from the proposed steel plant site to leave their village and took shelter in the school after they extended their support to the project.

The district authority had announced an ex gratia of Rs 10,000 from the Red Cross fund to the next of the kin of the victim.

UNI XC-DP KK GT NS1940