The Odisha state government resumed land acquisition for the proposed Posco steel plant in Jagatsinghpur after a gap of around one-and-a-half years amid stiff resistance from anti-project activists. At least a dozen people were injured as villagers clashed with the police in Gobindapur village under Dhinkia gram panchayat.
Sources said government officials with the help of armed police swooped on Gobindapur, the main bastion of the anti-land acquisition movement, around 4 am. When security forces started their march from Baliththa and entered Gobindapur, a human wall created by anti-land acquisition villagers, including women and children, tried to prevent them. The resistance, however, diminished as police progressed, said sources. As the officials started dismantling the betel vines, the villagers again mounted a stiff resistance and the police lathi charged them.
Government sources, however, claimed the villagers largely-cooperated in the land acquisition process and that the resistance was mild. “The betel vine owners cooperated with us and we gave them cheques on the spot. There was not much resistance,” said district collector SK Mallick. The district administration claimed to have managed to dismantle 25 betel vines in the village with the help of armed police. Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) condemned the government action. “The police attack is condemnable. It speaks volumes about the state government’s attitude towards democratic movements. We will give a fitting reply,” said PPSS general secretary Abhaya Sahoo.
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