Gana Sangram Samiti, which is spearheading the agitation against Tata Iron and Steel Companys (Tisco) proposed mega steel project at Gopalpur in Orissa, yesterday claimed that Prime Minister I K Gujral is in favour of shifting the project if people so wanted.
Samiti leaders, who called on the Prime Minister on August 30, quoted Gujral as saying that, If the people of Gopalpur area are resisting the project at the identified location, it should be shifted elsewhere.
The samiti delegation, led by its president Narayan Reddy, also presented a memorandum to the Prime Minister urging his intervention in the matter.
The memorandum said the people were not against the project, but were opposed to its location in a fertile and thickly populated area.
Stating that alternative sites were available not far from the present location for a shore-based steel plant, the memorandum requested Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral to direct Tisco and the state government to shift the project to a site where displacement of people would be less than at the present site.
Reddy asserted that the people are determined to oppose the project in the face of ruthless oppression perpetuated by the state government. In a bid to help Tisco acquire the land, the state government has utilised its machinery to unleash a reign of terror in the area, he alleged.
Villagers protesting peacefully against the project and unwilling to vacate their houses have been subjected to lathicharge, teargassing and firing by the police at regular intervals, he said.
The samiti pointed out that nearly 25,000 people will lose their livelihood if the project was allowed to come up at the present location. These people grow a number of cash crops like casurina, banana and mango in the area. Besides, it is also rich in kewda plantation.
According to a study by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard), kewda farmers make a profit of Rs 40,000 a year per acre of plantation. The kewda industry provides employment to about 3,000 families in the area, the memorandum said.
As a result, while two people have died, over 200 people have sustained injuries in police action during last two years. In yet another repressive measure, 12 of the Samiti leaders have been kept behind the bars for last 50 days.
Reddy, however, said that the Samiti is planning to intensify agitation against the project in near future.He said a massive protest rally is being organised infront of the state assembly in Bhubaneswar on 23rd of this month which among others will be adddressed by the CPI MP Gita Mukherji. This will be followed by another rally at Berhampur. He also dismissed the claim of Tatas acquring over 2,000 acres of land in the area saying most of these either belong to the government or the absentee land lords who are not in real possession of the property. The people who are actually inhabiting the area will prefer to die rather than vacate the land, he said signalling the tough time ahead for the company in its bid to put up the plant.
