Bhubaneswar:
In fresh trouble for South Korean steel giant Pohang Steel Corporation (POSCO), the construction and tree-felling operation near Paradeep has been stalled for the third day following massive opposition from people who were earlier staunch supporters of the steel project.
These people are now demanding the shifting of the project site to a large patch of barren land 7 km away, echoing the demand of the POSCO Partirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) which has been on a protest dharna since June 5.
The proposed coastal road is planned to be laid from the Paradip Oil Refinery to POSCO area, the foundation for which was laid on Friday.
As the contractor and workers were proceeding to the site during the day, PPSS activists protested the move and chased them away, official sources said.
The district administration had a tough time in convincing a large number of protesters who blocked the road at Gadakujanga by erecting bamboo barricades.
Korean Ambassador Kim Joong Keun had said yesterday that though the $12 billion project has taken a lot of time, it would start in Orissa.
"Even though it takes time, I think the Posco project in Orissa (will) in anyway start," he said.
In June 2005, POSCO signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Orissa government for the project.
(With PTI inputs)