Other States - Orissa   

People up in arms against various projects in State

BHUBANESWAR: A pledge of over Rs. 5,00,000 crore-investment for industries and other projects within a five-year period might have put Orissa, the poorest State in India, in a different league, but it has also attracted people’s discontentment so much so that only a few districts have now been left untouched by movements.

A conservative estimate says about 15 to 20 small and large people’s movements have taken a substantial number of villagers along with them while the State Government seems to be not in a position to win confidence of people in favour of projects.

With only two days to go for completion of three years to South Korean POSCO’s Memorandum of Understanding with the State government for the largest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), but the steel project is yet to take off. The movement by people has only made the administration “a passive player”.

A 15-year-old movement against setting up of alumina refinery project at Kashipur in Orissa’s Rayagada district is still flickering and sometimes threatens to boil over. Similarly, people’s movement as well as intellectual activism took the protest against another alumina project in Lanjigarh area of Kalahandi district to the premise of Supreme Court.

However, mother of all movements that shook nation’s conscience was the protest in Kalinga Nagar in Jajpur district, where 13 tribals lost their lives in police firing.

Most of the movements are basically being built up in mineral-rich districts. Sociologist Rita Ray of Utkal University blamed the spurt in movements to ignorance and insecurity among people and lack of proper communicationPeople’s movements have originated from some successful movements such as Gandhamardan Bachao Andolan, Chilika Bachao Andolan .

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