A team including eminent activist Medha Patkar on Tuesday visited Baliapal block and addressed a gathering supporting agitators protesting the Subarnarekha port.
Environmentalist Prafulla Samantra, former Minister Panchanan Kanungo, former PCC president Niranjan Patnaik , former MLA Pradipta Panda,former MLA Cittaranjan Sarangi, Kishor Das, block president Ranjita Nayak , Bijan Nayak, environment activist Sudarshan Das, Arun Jena and Jayant Das were among others who addressed the public at Nahara Chhak under Betagadia gram panchayat.
The meeting was convened by ‘Bhita Mati Suraksha Committee ’ which has been opposing the port project as well as a petrochemical project to
mark the 37 anniversary of the historic win by Baliapal Ghati Andolan,
which spearheaded agitations against the establishment of the National Test Range at Baliapal.
The speakers said there is no need for any more new ports in Odisha.
Although the Subarnarekha project had been shelved in 2006, it was revived in 2019. The residents of six GPs would lose their lands, which is the source of their livelihood, to a private company forever due to
the port project.