Villagers lock Bhusan Steel plant gate

About six hundred people belonging to seven villages affected by Bhusan Steel Limited’s project near Meramandali in Dhenkanal district locked the main gate of the steel plant today morning for an indefinite period, seeking fulfillment of their six-point charter of demands.

The situation is tense on the spot and five platoons of police forces have been deployed at the site. However, the company’s production work was not disrupted as the workers entered into the plant site early in the morning, said Lalit Das deputy inspector general (north-central).

The land losers locked the main gate of the plant after talks held between them and the plant authorities under the chairmanship of the Dhenkanal collector failed to find any solution.

The villagers had two main demands. They demanded jobs for all the 27 ITI trained youths who got the training on the company’s sponsorship. The other major demand was the reinstatement of about 400 local casual workers who were sacked by the plant authorities recently.

The locals alleged that the Bhushan steel plant caused severe water, dust and air pollution.

They also accused the plant authorities of adopting anti-local policies in all the appointments in their project in violation of the decisions of the Rehabilitation and Peripheral Development Advisory Committee.