Deadlock over Posco work resolved

The week-long deadlock between United Action Committee (UAC), a pro-Posco group and the Jagatsinghpur district administration has been resolved following the apology tendered by the district officials for last Saturday's incident in which police had attacked innocent land losers.

The district officials assured to take expeditious steps to fulfill UAC's six-point charter of demands. These demands included employment to each family, contract work to local people and employment to local labourers in construction work, finalization of the compensation of homestead and agricultural land, hike in compensation rate from 20 to 30 per cent for betel vine labourers, and measurement of betel vines from 'stay to stay' instead of 'fence to fence'.

Of the seven village forest committees, the district officials interacted with the leaders of five forest village committees and succeeded in convincing them. The administration ignored the remaining two forest committees- Mathsahi and Balisahi who are reluctant to cooperate with the administration for the Posco work.

Dhirendra Pallei, working president of UAC expected the forest committees of Mathsahi and Balisahi to cooperate with the district administration after progress of ancillary work on the Posco project.

“The discussions with the village forest committee were successful as the committee members gave assurance to cooperate in resumption of Posco ancillary work. The tree felling work will resume tomorrow,” he added.

It may be noted that village forest committees with the help of villagers of Nuagaon had stalled the chopping of trees, measurement of earth structure, sand leveling as well as demarcation and construction of boundary wall and rehabilitation colony since last week after police attacked innocent land losers who were insisting on fulfillment of their six-point charter of demands.