Jagatsinghpur district Collector SK Mallick, accompanied by SP Satya Brata Bhoi, on Tuesday visited proposed Posco site at Nuagaon, Gadakujanga and Dhinkia villages under Erasama block and held a meeting with the affected villagers at Sidhagumpha under Nuagaon Panchayat.
After Posco boundary wall destruction and burning of two container offices of the firm, the project work had come to a grinding halt and the affected villagers had decided to oppose the project until their demands were met.
Finding that there had been no let-up in the tension and the project supporters were turning opponents, the civil administration opted holding a tripartite talk with the villagers with a motive to sort out the impasse. The villagers also responded positively to the proposal for a meeting with the administration officials.
Accordingly, Collector Mallick and SP Bhoi, along with several other officials on Tuesday visited the Posco site villages and held a meeting with the villagers. The villagers pressed for a 22-point charter of demands and said that they would cooperate with the construction works only if the civil administration fulfilled the demands.
The District Collector said that the Government would not be able to fulfil the demands at present because the Model Code of Conduct was in force in view of the general elections in April and assured only after the poll process was completed, the villagers’ demands would be taken into account.
Convinced, the villagers lifted the ban on entry of civil and police officials to Nuagaon village. Official sources confirmed the district Collector and SP also rushed to the trouble torn anti Posco bastion Dhinkia village to take stock of the situation there.