Locals seal roads to Posco site

A day after taking law into their hands to press for their demands, local people who are supporters of Posco's proposed steel project, today sealed all roads to the site in Jagatsinghpur district.
The agitating people erected a bamboo barricade at the entrance point of Nuagaon village to prevent entry of company officials or Jagatsinghpur district officials into the proposed plant site.
"We have decided not to allow entry of officials or company people unless the government holds discussion over our 14-point charter of demands," said Tirtharanjan Mantri, one of the agitators.
The agitation was being launched by the group known as the supporters of the South Korean steel major's project.

They, however, started an agitation demanding fulfilment of their demands. "We are supporting the project. The state government and the company should not take it (support) as granted unless our demands are fulfilled," Mantri said.
The Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS), which has been opposing the project since inception, supported the people who have started the agitation.

Angry villagers yesterday burnt some steel containers being used as temporary office and damaged a portion of the site's boundary wall near Nuagaon demanding fulfilment of their 14-point-charter of demands.
Villagers alleged that the company was constructing the boundary wall in the area without meeting their demands.

Two FIRs were filed against those involved in breaking the site's boundary wall and torching its camp office.
One FIR was filed by the construction company that built Posco site's boundary wall and the other by the security personnel deployed at the violence site, police sources said.
Jagatsinghpur district collector S K Mallick said, "People should shun agitation and wait for the RPDAC meeting."
The RPDAC (Rehabilitation and Periphery Development Advisory Committee) meeting could not be held early as the revenue divisional commissioner of central division, is holding additional charge of western division.