[Reader-list] Update from POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti, September 19

[asit das]

*Update from POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti, September 19*


Over twenty seven lakh people in Orissa are continuing to reel under the
impact of devastating floods. According to the government sources, the death
toll in the deluge mounted to 38, 16 people have gone missing in floods and
many are homeless. Though water level is continuing to recede still villages
of Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Cuttack, Kendrapara continue to remain marooned.
Even the villages of Kujang block here are facing a tough time. Villagers
are asking for immediate relief, provision of government work and payment of
wages in a transparent manner.
At this high time, instead of providing relief materials to the villagers,
the district administration has resumed the felling rich forest category
trees for the establishment of POSCO. They include thick casuarina trees,
which are natural shield against the cyclones. In 1999, when the super
cyclone struck there was not a single casualty from the villages here with
the trees protecting the people from the killer winds.
With the tree felling the vulnerability of people to killer cyclones has
increased. People are now scared as to who will save them incase of cyclone
whch is quite reccuent in our area. More than 60,000 trees have already been
cut down and nearly six lakh more trees are to go. Against this mindless
tree cutting exercise, people came to protect trees but the police thrashed
them away. People are protesting against carrying out the project work which
is going on ‘without people’s consent’. On 9th of September, the police has
arrested seven villagers for erecting of bamboo gates at Nuagaon and
Gadakujang to prevent entry of POSCO and IDCO officials.
The irony is that, the Revenue and Disaster management minister Surya Naryan
Patra is making a statement in the media that “This is no complaint from my
disaster management department about any threat of disaster due to cutting
off of the trees,” The Paradip additional district magistrate Surjeet Das is
making a propaganda that “Work at the proposed Posco site was continuing
smoothly. There is no tension in the area and no police force had been
deployed,”.
You may well understand the hurry with which the administration is going
ahead with the massive tree cutting exercise for POSCO projects when
villagers are facing a tough time due to the flood. This is also when two
PILs are being heard in the High Court on private and forest land
acquisition for POSCO project. It may be reminded that the MoU between the
company and the government has already expired before more a year.
Meanwhile, in anticipation of forcible removal from our land, our villagers
are continuing the dharana at Govindpur village and maintaining strict vigil
in the area. We are requesting all of you to protest this callous and
insensitive attitude of state administration of using force to crush the
democratic movements and cutting the massive trees by inviting impending
environment disaster.