By IANS,
Jagatsinghpur : Activists opposed to construction of Posco steel plant in Orissa’s Jagatsinghpur district Thursday claimed to have found a cache of arms in a school building, and alleged the weapons were kept by the steel plant supporters to attack them.
The proposed $12 billion steel plant, to be developed by South Korean steel major Posco in Govindpur, has invited staunch opposition from a section of the villagers in Govindpur in Jagatsinghpur district.
The anti-Posco activists Thursday locked one of the plant supporters in a building in Govindpur village.
“Based on the information provided by the man, anti-Posco activists conducted a search operation and found the arms in a room of a school,” Babuli Rout, leader of the anti-Posco group, told IANS.
“We found about six cartoons full of locally made bombs and about 25 swords, ingredients of land mine, batteries and immediately informed the police,” he said.
He added that they also found some bags on which Posco’s name was written.
“We set some of the bags on fire as part of our protest against the company,” Rout said.
“The anti-Posco activists have informed us about this,” a district police official told IANS. “Police officials have already reached the spot and are now trying to diffuse the bombs,” he added.
Posco, the world’s fourth largest steel maker, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Orissa government to set up the plant near Paradip port by 2016. However, the project is now facing stumbling blocks due to the staunch opposition by the villagers.
Villagers supporting the project say it will bring economic development in the region while those opposing the project say it will displace them and will ruin their betel farming.