Pictures of children protesting at the Posco site in Orissa shocked the nation and forced the Jagatsinghpur district administration to halt land acquisition and withdraw the police forces. But clearly it was just a temporary halt.
Government sources now say once the issue is out of the media's spotlight, and political leaders and social activists stop visiting, the district administration will restart land acquisition. The administration has in fact begun levelling and sand filling on the land already acquired for the project.
Orissa steel and mines minister Raghunath Mohanty said, "For Posco we require 3719 acres out of which we have already acquired around 2000 acres. There is only 152 acres private land. We will discuss with only the villagers who will be displaced to acquire the land and the govt is sure we will be successful in doing so."
Meanwhile the presence of leaders from the opposition and social activists like Swami Agnivesh and Medha Patkar has made the task more difficult for the state government. And agitating farmers have, as a result been given a confidence boost.
Social activist Swami Agnivesh said, "This is a highly fertile land and no amount of money can compensate the farmers if they loose their livelihood."
The agitators know this is likely to be a lengthy battle, and in order to gather more public support, they've decided their children will remain at the forefront. Even the village's teachers have begun teaching them at the protest site.
President of Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti Abhaya Sahoo said, "This agitation will continue like this and the children will get education here."
This Wednesday, it is six years since the Orissa state and Posco first signed the MoU for a steel plant. Agitators call the anniversary by another name - 'Black Day'. And on Friday, the plan is to observe another Black Day - but this time across the country.
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