By IANS
Bhubaneswar : Posco-India Pvt Ltd, subsidiary of South Korean steel major Pohang Iron and Steel Co Ltd, has withdrawn most of its site staff from Kujang near Paradeep port in Orissa because of prevailing tension in the area.
Company spokesperson Sashanka Patnaik told IANS that out of 15 employees working at Posco-India’s project office at Kujang, some 100 km from state capital Bhubaneswar, 13 have joined work at its head office in Bhubaneswar from Thursday.
According to Patnaik, the decision was taken by Posco-India’s management in Bhubaneswar following the kidnapping and release of four Posco executives, including three Korean nationals Oct 13.
Patnaik said the local police has issued a communication preventing company officials from entering the site without prior information.
Posco-India’s field staff will resume duties only after the state government assures them of their safety, said Patnaik.
Pradeep Ranjan Patra, assistant superintendent of police, told IANS that police have banned entry of Posco employees to the area for their own safety.
“Unless they inform us about their programme to visit the area, how can we provide them protection against the actions of anti-Posco activists?” he said.
“Our duty is to safeguard the lives and properties of everybody, especially that of the foreign nationals, for which we have simply requested Posco management to speak to us before entering the area.”