Two held for attacking Orissa officials
By IANSWednesday, June 2, 2010
BHUBANESWAR - Two people were arrested Wednesday after they attacked officials helping to determine money to be paid to villagers whose land is being given to South Korean steel major Posco in Orissa’s Jagatsinghpur district.
The arrests took place after the officials were attack near Nuagaon village, their instruments were snatched and the official papers torn, Additional District Magistrate S.K. Choudhury told IANS.
Dozens of officials have been surveying the proposed site of the company since May 25 to identify villagers eligible for compensation.
“They forcibly conducted the survey despite a protest by over a thousand villagers,” Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti spokesman Prasant Paikray told IANS.
Posco, one of the world’s biggest steel makers, signed a deal with the Orissa government in June 2005 to set up a plant near Paradip town, some 100 km from here.
The steel maker requires about 4,004 acres for the project, of which 2,900 acre is forest land. The project has been delayed for over three years due to various reasons, including protests by locals.
