Paradip, Jan. 28: Local youths, who were guarding the temporary office of the South Korean steel major in Nuagaon, have decided to quit their jobs to protest against non-revision of rehabilitation and resettlement package for the families of land losers and those displaced by the proposed Posco project.

People who were once supporters of the steel venture have turned hostile because of the non-implementation of the revised package.

With people refusing to cooperate, boundary wall building job of the steel major has come to a grinding halt.

“Both the company and the state government are playing a cruel joke with those who have been displaced and lost their livelihood after betel vineyards were displaced. Since the past one-and-a-half-year, we have been demanding necessary revision in the livelihood and rehabilitation package but nothing has happened so far,” said Nirvaya Samantaray, who is the general-secretary of the United Action Committee, a pro-Posco outfit),

“No police help has been sought either by the company or by the civil administration so far. As people are protesting at the project sites, police patrolling has been stepped up in specific pockets,” said Jagatsinghpur superintendent of Police, Satyabrata Bhoi.

In the Posco project areas, villagers of Nuagaon staged a protest meeting to voice grievances against the company and the government for ignoring larger interest of people.

Yesterday, the 15-day-long dharna by residents of Gadakujang gram panchayat had been withdrawn after intervention by Paradip MLA and minister for health and family welfare Damodar Rout.

Health minister Damodar Rout, who hails from the area, said: “The demands of the people are legitimate and genuine. They had withdrawn their agitation after being assured of fulfilment of their demands. The issues and points of differences would be resolved shortly in accordance with the state’s rehabilitation and resettlement policy.”We are not against the project, but against the dilly-dallying attitude of the administration, said UAC member Tamil Pradhan. “People have aired their grievances regarding revision of compensation sum. They have been assured that their demands would be fulfilled,” said Jagatsinghpur collector Satya Kumar Mallick.

“The government agencies are operating as the agents of the steel company,” said Nuagaon sarpanch Anjali Pradhan.