Sambalpur, Sept. 13: People, who had lost their land to the Aditya Aluminium Plant at Lapanaga in Rengali block of the district, blocked the unit’s gate for the ninth consecutive day today demanding employment.

The protesters, under the aegis of the Veer Surendra Sai Anchalika Sangh, have been blocking the entrance gate since September 5 affecting construction inside the plant area. They have also demanded rehabilitation of their families.

“The project is nearing completion and will be commissioned shortly. The industrial house has already recruited people for the project. So far, 427 people have been employed. However, only 47 of the 427 belong to Sambalpur district. Only three persons from the displaced families have been recruited in the project so far,” said sangha president Satya Narayana Agrawal.

“The industrial house is not interested in providing employment to local people, who have been affected by the project. Even the deserving local candidates are being denied jobs,” he said.

“The plant has choked several roads of this area. The company should construct alternative roads. At least 15 water bodies, on which the local people depended, were filled up for the project. The industrial house should make drinking water arrangements for the affected villages,” said Deepak Nath, an agitator.

However, an official spokesperson of the company refuted allegations made by the protesters. He said their recruitment policy followed the company’s MoU with the government. The company is yet to recruit unskilled and semi-skilled employees. In both the categories, it will provide 90 per cent jobs to people from the state.

In the skilled category, 99 per cent of the people hired are from the state as against the provision of 60 per cent. In the managerial category, although the MoU provides 30 per cent reservation for local people, the company has provided 65 per cent, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said efforts were being made to amicably resolve the issues raised by the protesters.

Sambalpur sub-collector Surendra Panda said: “We have convened several rounds of meetings to end the deadlock.

On September 11, a tripartite meeting of representatives of the agitators, industrial house and district administration was also held. The meeting failed to yield any result. We are trying to resolve the issue.”