Tuesday, June 23, 2015

 

Anti Posco group observe Black Day, Urged Odisha to return acquired land
Report by Kahnu Nanda, Jagatsinghpur: Commemorating Posco MoU’s 10th anniversary anti Posco outfit PoscoPratirodha Sangram Samiti [PPSS] was organized a protest meeting and observed black dayin the proposed South Korean steel project site in Dhinkia village on Monday.
PPSS president Abhaya Sahoo accompanied by hundreds of outfit sympathizers including local villagers and women took outa rally from Dhinkia village and converged at Patanahat where PPSS hosted a massive public meeting.
MrSahoo Addressing the gathering PPSS head Mr Sahoo described about ten years have been passed Odisha government signed MoU with Posco, no tangible progress happened for project inception except 2700 acres of government land retrieved for the project purpose. Ironically the state government has become unable renewing the MoU besides it has expired five years ago.
Th project has been sufferings manifold obstructions and legal hiatus atNational Green Tribunal and union ministry of Environment and Forests sinceyears, Causing Posco faces uncertainty in mineral linkage front, environment clearance neither the state government nor Posco is sure about the project. The entire anti Posco movement which had started here seven years ago has received global recognition,the anti industry contingents across the world affiliated our agitation, Sahoo informed.
Moreover PPSS chief appealed Odisha governmentto return the government land to the affected land losers which had acquired forcibly two years back, and withdraw the false cases against the anti Posco leaders and rejuvenate the forest cover and planting trees which had been axed during land acquisition in proposed project site in the year 2013. Among others PPSS leaders Prasant Paikaray, Nityananda Swain, Manorama Khatua were spoke on the occasion and allthe attending activists were wore black batch protesting Posco  MoU’s 10th anniversary.
However hundreds of betel vein losers from Posco site villages were staged demonstration and protest meeting in front of collector office here on Monday. The protesters fumed against Odsiha government and Posco authority and lamented causing forcible land acquisition they lost their livelihood after their betel veins had razed, the R&R policy meant for the industrial displacement ignore them as consequence they have become unable receiving due compensation and monthly pension till date. The activists led by its leader Pradipta Ram submitted a memorandum before Jagatsinghpur collector.
  • See more at: http://www.orissadiary.com/CurrentNews.asp?id=59848#sthash.4SAnr8RY.dpuf