Posco protesters demand scrapping of project

Demands include non-diversion of agricultural land for industrial, mining activities

Observing anti-Posco day, more than 2000 protesters on Friday staged a mass rally in the city under the banner of Lok Shakti Abhiyan (LSA), a people's movement organization, demanding total scrapping of the biggest FDI project.

"The government should stop acquisition of agricultural land for companies including Posco and put an end to police repression. Posco should go back from India”, said Prafulla Samantara, president of LSA.

Dayamani Barla, an anti-displacement leader from Jharkhand and Bimal Bhai of National Alliance of People's Movement (NAPM) demanded scrapping of the project.

The delegation led by Samantara also met Odisha Governor S C Jamir and submitted a memorandum to him, listing a host of demands.

The demands include non-diversion of agricultural land for industrial and mining activities, full stop to forcible displacement from land, withdrawal of police forces from the Posco site, repeal of the existing Land Acquisition Act and replacing it with Land Rights Act and scrapping of all coal-based power plants proposed to be set up on river basins and farm land.