Thaindian News

Bhubaneswar, Dec 15 (IANS) Opposition parties Thursday demanded a probe into the killing of a construction worker the day before in clashes near the site of steel major Posco’s $12 billion project in Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur district.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said his government will take necessary action against those responsible for the incident, but opposition leaders said they were not happy the way things had evolved.

“The government is creating a situation deliberately so that people give up their fight against the project. We want a judicial inquiry into the incident,” Congress leader Narasingha Mishra told reporters.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also accused the government of crushing the anti-Posco agitation by deploying “goons” in the area.

“The government is totally responsible for the present situation,” said Jual Oram, state BJP president.

“It is not for the first time that such an unpleasant incident has occurred,” he said.

Oram said his party too wanted an impartial probe into the Wednesday’s incident. The matter was also echoed in the on-going winter session of the assembly with opposition Thursday demanding a discussion in the house.

Hundreds of armed policemen patrolled the troubled region in Jagatsinghpur district.

“We are keeping a close watch on the situation. Police patrolling has been intensified as the situation remains tense,” district Superintendent of Police S.S.D.D. Singh told IANS.

The clashes erupted Wednesday after hundreds of villagers opposed to the Posco project in the area did not allow workers to carry out construction.

Police said the protesters attacked the workers and hurled locally-made crude bombs. Opponents of the project said people at the construction site first attacked the villagers with sticks and axes and then hurled bombs.

The foundation stone for the 10-km coastal road was laid in August but work had stopped midway after local protests. Although the work had resumed Tuesday, authorities had to halt it again after Wednesday’s clashes.

While the state government said the road would improve communication, those opposed to the project said the move was intended to speed up work for the South Korean major’s planned steel plant.