TNN reported that at least 1,200 displaced villagers, including many women, forcefully stalled the iron ore slurry pipe laying works of the Essar Steel project site near Paradip on Friday.

The agitators were demanding permanent jobs with proper salary in the steel company and adequate compensation for their land.

Mr Bimal Patnaik president of Essar Steel Company Displaced and Land Losers Association said “The Essar Steel company acquired our lands with a condition to provide us jobs. But now the company is not considering our demands, due to which we prevented the pipe laying works of the company in Nuagada village on Friday.”

Mr Debajyoti Samanta deputy manager of Essar Steel said “The company has already laid about 230 kilometer long slurry pipelines from Keonjhar to Paradip to get liquid form of iron ore through the pipelines. But some villagers opposed the pipe laying works at Nuagada village near the plant on Friday. Negotiations are going on to sort out various issues through discussion with the agitating villagers. After completion of this pipeline, we will not have to depend on trucks and trains to get iron ores. We are laying pipelines on the canal side government lands for which the villagers have no right to oppose the pipe laying works.”

The officer denied any neglect on the part of the company towards the displaced villagers by saying that “The Essar steel company acquired 1,268 acres of land in Udayabata, Bijayachandrapur and Nuagada villages after paying villagers proper compensation. We will fulfill the genuine demands of the agitators. We have recently completed a rural drinking water project in Nuagada under our CSR activities. We have also constructed proper roads in Nuagada. Some villagers with an ulterior motive have been trying to stall the pipeline laying works.”

Many contact laborers, however, who are engaged in construction work of the Essar Steel project, have alleged being neglected by the company. Two months ago hundreds of contract laborers had locked the main gate of the Essar Steel project site in Paradip, demanding fulfillment of their long standing, eight-point charter of demands. These include payment of higher wages as well as proper maintenance of records pertaining to gratuity and employees provident fund (EPF) accounts, among others.

(Sourced from Times of India)