The CPI backed POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti on Saturday said at least 1,000 of its members were ready to sacrifice their lives to oppose the South Korean steel major's steel mill on their \fertile land near Paradip.

Mr Abhay Sahu president of POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti told reporters a day after being released from jail on conditional bail that "We are ready to die than give an inch of land for industry in three gram panchayats under Kujang block near Paradip in Jagtsinghpur district.”

Mr Sahu said that the opposition was not to industrialization, but to industries on multi crop land. Replying a question Mr Sahu said he might not visit to Dhinkia gram panchayat area in view of conditions put by the Orissa High Court, but the agitation would continue.

He appealed to the state government and others associated with the project to shift it for villagers to live in peace.

The opposition by villagers has prevented acquisition of land even three years after POSCO-India signed MoU with the state government on June 22, 2005.

(Sourced from Zeenews.com)