JSPL impasse continues as land losers boycott tripartite

The tripartite among the land losers, Angul district administration and Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) failed to take up today as locals boycotted the meeting demanding presence of the media.

The district administration had organised the tripartite to resolve the crisis arising out of a clash between the land losers and the JSPL security guards on January 25 which left above 160 people injured.

Since then, locals had been blocking roads to the construction site where JSPL was setting up a 6 million tonne per annum steel plant at an investment of Rs 25,000 crore. They were demanding action against the officials responsible for the clash.

 

The clash began when land losers demanded jobs in the steel plant. They alleged that the company had been engaging labourers from outside the state ignoring the local people.

"We boycotted the meeting as the district collector did not agree to hold discussion in presence of media persons. We want discussion in presence of all," Sanatan Sahu, leader of the "Birankeswar Khyatigrastha Praja Samiti", told PTI.

The Samiti was formed by the land losers.

When contacted, the collector Mishra said: "I have never seen media persons becoming part of the discussion. However, if the land losers want so, we have no objection. The next tripartite meeting will be held on February 3."

Construction work at the plant site had come to a grinding halt as about 20,000 labourers hailing from various states fled from the plant site following the clash.