Six political parties — CPI, CPM, Forward Bloc, Jhakhand Mukti Morcha , Samajwadi party and Rashtriya Janata Dal — are making their last-minute efforts to prevent the Naveen Patnaik government from forcibly acquiring land of local residents at Kujang, the proposed site for the 12-million-tonne Posco steel project. The parties, which in the past confronted the state administration by organising protest rallies and demonstrations, have decided to follow a conciliatory path to at least buy peace for the moment and delay the land acquisition process.
The Left parties and their allies have been demanding to shift the project site. They contend it would cause large-scale displacement. The state government on the other hand, is not in a mood for relocation of the site.
To suppress agitation by the local people, the state administration has mobilised huge contingent of armed police force. In fact, in the last month, the police made two attempts to overrun the area. The move was vehemently opposed by the local people.
Sources informed that the state government is preparing for a final showdown with the agitators after the three-day Raja festival that begins on Monday.
Top leaders of the six parties who met here on Friday evening expressed their concern over the police “atrocities” on the local people at the project area and have decided meet chief minister Naveen Patnaik to discuss the issue.
The chief minister’s office on Saturday informed that the Mr Patnaik would meet the delegation on Sunday evening to discuss all issues relating to the Rs 52,000-crore project.
Meanwhile, hundreds of women of Gobindpur, a part of the project area, on Saturday raised a barricade to stop entry of the Posco and state government officials into the project site.