Paradip, July 3: If the results of panchayat polls held in Dhinkia, the nerve centre of anti- Posco agitation is any indication, the support base of the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samity (PPSS), seems to be dwindling.
The CPI-backed outfit has suffered a major setback with its sarpanch candidate losing the poll battle. The pro-Posco outfit supported by the ruling BJD has bagged the seat adding to the woes of the beleaguered anti-Posco movement.
Candidates owing allegiance to pro-Posco outfits mostly emerged victorious in 23 wards of the gram panchayat. “The PPSS is no more a force to reckon with in the project villages. It was fermenting trouble in the area with overt and covert patronage of political vested interest elements. People have severed tie with it. The poll result bears testimony to the dipping base of the outfit”, said general secretary of United Action Committee (UAC), a pro-Posco outfit, Nirvaya Samantaray.
“We no more repose faith in the PPSS. It was acting against the larger interest of the region. That’s why we have voted against its sarpanch candidate. Majority of the people have now realised that the outfit no more represents the popular opinion of people,” said Ashok Bardhan, a local of Dhinkia.
“The loss in polls does not indicate that the movement has lost people’s support. Our stand remains the same as it was when the movement was launched over seven years ago. Under no circumstances, the project would be allowed to come up”, said president PPSS, Abhaya Sahu.
Dhinkia gram panchayat, one of three gram panchayats coming under the earmarked land for the steel project, was widely regarded as the hub of the anti-Posco movement that was being spearheaded by the PPSS. However, the state government had excluded Dhinkia from the project area that dealt a blow to the anti-plant outfit and its resistance movement.
“Local residents have now begun to believe that the project would usher in economic growth and all round development of the area. That’s why; they have given up their anti-Posco stand,” a said a company official.
