Opp parties visit Dhinkia, say some people fled homes fearing police action

They should come forward to give their betel vines and take compensation, said Ersama tehsildar P N Das. The administration has also started identifying trees that will be felled for the project in private land of Govindpur village.

A day after seeking Governor Ganeshi Lal’s intervention into the alleged police excesses at Dhinkia in Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur district, the site of a proposed JSW mega steel project and a cement plant, a delegation of 13 opposition parties Friday visited the area and meet the residents.

Members of the Congress, CPI, CPI-M, Forward Block and others held a meeting at the village, where the villagers had clashed with the police on January 14.

CPI-M state secretary Ali Kishore Patnaik claimed that the residents of the area are living in fear since the clash. “Many youths are yet to return home as they are in hiding fearing police action,” he said. Forty villagers, including children and women and five police personnel were injured in the clash that took place as people opposed the demolition of their betel vines for acquiring land for the proposed private sector plant. The opposition party leaders demanded immediate withdrawal of police force from Dhinkia in order to restore normalcy in the area. An official said the land acquisition process for the proposed steel and cement plants is on. The administration has so far acquired about 50 acres by demolishing about 320 betel vines and paid compensation of Rs 8.62 crore to the affected families.

A total of 362 betel vines on government land will be acquired, he said. “The betel vines of the farmers are being demolished with proper consent. They should come forward to give their betel vines and take compensation,” said Ersama tehsildar P N Das. The administration has also started identifying trees that will be felled for the project in private land of Govindpur village. More than 800 fruit-bearing trees like coconut and cashew were identified and marked, the official said.

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