The Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) urged people to observe January 15 as a ‘National Protest Day’ against Posco as South Korean President Park Geun-Hye is scheduled to arrive in India on the day.
“We strongly oppose the decision of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to accord environment clearance to the proposed steel plant near Paradip by South Korean steel major Posco just ahead of the visit of the South Korean President,” said PPSS spokesperson Prsahant Paikray in a Press release. The PPSS also decided to stage dharna at different places of the country, including the national capital and the State capital, against the project on January 15.
“Our people in Dhinkia, Patna, Govindpur and Nuagaon villages have taken a resolve to intensify our struggle to ensure that Posco is ousted from our soil. To protest against the coalition of the State and Central Governments who are bent upon setting up the steel mill at any cost and hence are perpetrating atrocities against the villagers protesting forced acquisition of their land and other resources, we are going to organise a massive dharana at Dhinkia on January 15. Similar protests will also be organised in Bhubaneswar. Many groups who stand by the PPSS have also decided to launch protests in other cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Chennai,” said Paikray.
On the shocking clearance of MoEF’s to the steel project, he said the approval of the Centre had defied democracy and the dignity of the nation.