[Reader-list] Anti-POSCO activists boycott Orissa Government's meeting on POSCO project

[Anivar Aravind]

Anti-POSCO activists boycott Orissa Government's meeting on POSCO project
Saturday, February 06, 2010

http://www.orissadiary.com/CurrentNews.asp?id=16641

Report by Amarnath Parida; Jagatsinghpur: Posco meeting which was
scheduled to finalise the betel vine compensation and other
rehabilitation packages by the presence of the Chairman cum Managing
Director, IDCO has paralyzed on Saturday due to boycott to attend this
meeting by the members of United Action Committee .

Sources said that the members of UAC, a purportedly pro-Posco outfit
in the project site area, threatened not to abstain the today's Posco
meeting being chaired by Chairman cum Managing Director, IDCO Mr.
Priyabrat Pattnaik to finalize the betel vine compensation,
rehabilitation packages and other issues related to Posco steel
project on an also sent their opening to the district administration
through fax on Friday.

UAC members have expressed that their various demands like normalcy in
trouble torn Dhinkia, Gobindpur villages, resettlement to left out 70
villagers in their village, proposal of illegal deployment of police
in peace zone area, false commitment of administration and police to
restore peace, distribution of form for applying compensation of betel
vine without the knowledge of villagers and other demands have not yet
fulfilled.

Earlier, the members of UAC decided not to apply to the district
administration in Jagatsinghpur for compensation against loss of betel
vines unless their 29-point charter of demands relating to
compensation, rehabilitation package and employment are fulfilled. In
parallel, the Posco Pratirodha Sangram Samiti (PPSS), the organization
spearheading the anti-Posco movement, urged the villagers of Dhinkia
not to receive the application forms pertaining to compensation for
protesting Posco project .It may be noted that administration has
invited application forms from the betel vine losers from 1st to 10th
February for disbursement of compensation while BDO, Erasama has
issued notification of sarpanch of Dhinkia, Nuagaon and Gadkujang
panchyats to conduct pallisabha to hand over forest land to Posco
Company.

CMD, IDCO Mr Pattnaik intervened in this matter and sought the
cooperation of the members of UAC to finalise the compensation and
rehabilitation packages so he scheduled to attend this meeting at
Paradip on Saturday. Meanwhile, his visit to Paradip has been canceled
and Posco meeting has also paraylsed due to abstain of UAC members on
today. On the other hand, UAC members Mr Tamil Pradhan, Nirvya
Samntray and Gadkujang Sarpanch Mr Nakul Sahoo have expressed that UAC
has invited district officials, CMD, IDCO and Posco officials to
project site to discuss everything in the presence of villagers.

District Collector Mr Gyanranjan Dash has expressed that today's
meting has been deferred because of CMD, IDCO's busy in other meeting.
He informed that no fax message members regarding skip of this meeting
has yet received.

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