Orissa resumes land acquisition for Posco project

In the face opposition from the locals, the Orissa government today resumed the land acquisition process for South Korean steel major Posco's $12-billion project in the state amid massive police deployment.

Officials from various departments including revenue and forest started the process to acquire land in the coastal district of Jagatsinghpur.

Several villagers in Gadakujanga who received compensation from the officials, demolished their betel vines on their own and handed over their land to the administration, according to an official.

District officials said that no untoward incident had been reported and the work was proceeding smoothly.

However, at Balitutha -- the entry point to the proposed site, tension prevailed as hundreds of men and women staged a demonstration.

Activists from the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti opposing the project assembled in the Dhinkia area, while those of Bhitamati Suraksha Janamancha congregated at Nuagaon.