Tension mounts at Posco project site; MP held

Tension mounted at Balitutha as hundreds of armed policemen had reached to clear the road blockade by the villagers opposing land acquisition for Posco's proposed steel project. Prohibitory orders have been clamped in the area and district administration officials had reached Balitutha and asked the protestors to end their dharna and vacate the place.

Balitutha is the entry point to the land selected for the Posco project and the Sangram Samiti has announced that it will not allow the administration or company officials to the place.

Several senior leaders of the CPI had reached Balitutha to express their solidarity with the villagers.

Communist Party of India Lok Sabha member from Jagatsinghpur, Bibhu Prasad Tarai was taken into custody in the wee hours today for venturing into the villages where people were opposing the Posco steel project. Police said he was trying to enter the proposed steel plant site of Posco-India ahead of a rally to protest the project.

Tarai was stopped and arrested at around 2 am when he was on his way to Balitutha, where those opposing Posco steel project are on dharna (sit-in) since 26 January, according to Prasant Paikray, spokesperson of the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti.

"Tarai was arrested as a preventive measure to avoid any law and order problem as a large number of anti-Posco activists have gathered in the area," Jagatsinghpur Superintendent of Police Devdutta Singh said.