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Posco will have to withdraw from project, says Bardhan

Rallying point: Villagers taking out a rally at Dhinkia village on Monday.

Dhinkia: Six major Opposition parties along with prominent anti-displacement groups on Monday extended their support to beleaguered villagers, who intensified their agitation against setting up of mega steel mill by South Korean POSCO here.

A meeting was organised as part of ‘Black Week’ observed by POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) to mark three-year completion of signing of memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Orissa government and POSCO here.

Addressing the gathering CPI general secretary A.B Bardhan said his party would continue its agitation till the South Korean steel giant dropped its plan to set up plant.

“POSCO will have to withdraw from the project. Villagers have been living on the resources bestowed on them by nature. They cannot simply hand over those to an industry,” Mr. Bardhan said.

He reiterated the party’s demand that no foreign company should be allowed to set up port on Indian coast and POSCO should not also be given permission to go ahead with its captive port plan.

The veteran communist leader visited bereaved family members of Tapan Mandal, who was killed when supporters of steel project allegedly hurled bombs on him on Friday. Abhay Sahoo, a CPI leader who had been spearheading anti-POSCO project movement, said that they would continue their fight.

He announced that villagers would resume digging up channel at Jatadhari mouth, where the South Korean steel major proposed to set up its port.

Leaders from other political parties, including Communist Party of India (Marxist), Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Samajwadi Party, addressed the rally.

Meanwhile, police administration kept its finger crossed apprehending a major law and order situation that could emerge from the meeting. Finally they heaved a sigh of relief as the meeting passed of peacefully.

After three years, POSCO, which proposed largest Foreign Direct Investment, was not able to acquire land it required for the steel project near port town of Paradip.

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