Members of outfits represent the land-losers’ families on dharna at the essar steel project site near Paradip. Telegraph picture

Paradip, April 20: Tension mounted today near the Essar steel plant near Paradip as lowly-paid contractual engineers seeking pay hike and job security stopped construction work at the six million ton per annum capacity steel mill. However, the company bought temporary truce by agreeing to raise the salary of agitating engineers. Extending support towards the plight of technically qualified youths from this region, outfits floated by people displaced by the project also intensified their agitation, triggering tension in and around the steel mill.

The tripartite talk held yesterday between the plant management, administration and the outfits had ended in a stalemate. However, the local administration today managed to broker a temporary truce to assuage the ‘let down’ feeling in striking engineers.

The protesters alleged that local youths of displaced families holding a degree or diploma in engineering got a raw deal. They were offered a monthly salary package varying from Rs 4,000 to Rs 6,000.

“It’s a cruel joke. The steel company has let us down. We are being treated as bonded labourers...Unless we are given a befitting and respectable pay package, we will not allow the steel mill to operate on our land,” said Smruti Ranjan Samantaray, a striking engineer.

“There is tension at the plant site. We had apprehended breach of law and order because of large gatherings by various outfits. But nothing untoward was reported after the plant management assured to take up issues affecting land-losers’ families on a priority basis,” Shantanu Kumar Das, sub-divisional police officer, said.

“Today 103 striking engineers from land-losers’ families had staged demonstration. However they withdrew from their agitation following joint effort by company management and the administration. The plant management has agreed in principle to hike pay of contractual engineers”, said Saroj Kanta Choudhury, additional district magistrate.

M.K. Thakur, project manager, Essar Steel, Paradip, said “We have agreed to enhance the salary package of striking engineers.”