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Villagers firm on resisting land acquisition for Posco project

BHUBANESWAR: Hundreds of villagers comprising children, women and elderly persons on Wednesday are bracing up to resist the land acquisition process for Posco project in Dhinkia Panchayat.

“It was a show of strength as administration flanked by scores of armed policemen is advancing towards our villages. We will not allow acquisition of land measuring an inch,” warned Abhaya Sahoo, president of the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS).

More than 3,000 villagers gathered at Bata in Nuagaon panchayat. Children were kept in the forefront of the human-chain while women formed second line of defence.

Land acquisition teams constituted by the State government started its operation from May 18. Since then more than 623 betel vineyards have been dismantled with compensation to the tune of Rs. 6.99 crore disbursed among betel farmers.

“The land acquisition process has been launched on different front. After dismantling of vineyards, cutting of fruit-bearing trees has been started in order to complete possession on the land,” said Nrushingha Charan Swain, special land acquisition officer for the project.

Apprehending that agitating villagers would confront with land acquisition team, police personnel have been deployed at 15 different locations in and around the project site of the Posco's proposed steel plant.

Meanwhile, PPSS reiterated that police parties would be denied access to Dhinkia Gram Panchayat and Gobindpur as villagers were opposed to giving away their land for the project. As a result, tension mounted in the area.

The State government is to acquire land measuring 4,004 acres for the Posco project near Paradip in Jagatsinghpur district. After disbanding of vineyards, the administration claimed that it was in possession of 1,700 acres of the forestland and government revenue land.

There is about another 1,700 acres of forestland in Dhinkia and Gobindpur, where villagers had been fighting tooth and nail to prevent acquisition of land.

Fish ponds, betel vines and fruit-bearing plants could be found on the patch of the forestland.

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