Anti POSCO protests gather steam
south Korean steel giant posco continues to face stiff public resistance in Orissa's Jagatsinghpur district where the company is setting up a 12 million tonne steel plant. On April 1, protesters violated the district administration's prohibition orders and entered the Balitutha bridge near the plant site.
"This is our land and no one can stop us from holding a meeting here,' said Manorama who led a team of women from Dhinkia village. Police detained several agitators who were led by Abhay Sahu of the posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti. The protesters included those who were evacuated from the area in November 2007 for the project. Apart from those who lost land for the proposed plant site in eight villages in three panchayats, people from far-lying Kalinga Nagar and Ganjam districts also joined the agitation.
Tension has been mounting in the area for the past few months after many protested against land acquisitions (see: