Deadlock at Posco's Odisha site ends, work resumes

Work resumed at the proposed Posco steel plant site in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur district today after the pro-Posco United Action Committee (UAC) and the Jagatsinghpur district administration ended their dispute over the award of contract.

The deadlock was resolved after the district administration tendered an apology for last Saturday's incident in which police had attacked innocent project-affected people.

The district administration also assured the local residents that it would take expeditious steps to fulfill UAC's demands, which include employment to each project-affected family, contract work to local people and employment to local labourers in construction work, finalisation of compensation for homestead and agricultural land.

The district administration has, meanwhile, agreed to hike compensation rate for betel vine labourers from 20 to 30 per cent, and alter the criteria for measurement of the quantity of betel vine.

With the local residents agreeing to allow resumption of work, the administration wasted no time in felling trees and undertaking civil works, Paradip additional district magistrate Sarojkant Choudhury said.

He said the district administration would now negotiate with individual groups who guard the forests to facilitate work instead of talking to the alliance.