Paradip, March 12: The Jagatsinghpur district administration will suspend all Posco project related constructions till the election process is over.

The move is intended to win the confidence the project villagers, who are opposing the work demanding rehabilitation and resettlement measures for land losers and displaced families.

With work being suspended, the atmosphere will be conducive for hassle-free conduct of general election at the project villages.

Senior government officials, led by district collector and superintendent of police, visited the disturbance-hit project areas and managed to convince the settlers.

In a confidence-building exercise, officials interacted with people and reached out a settlement with various outfits active at Gagakujang, Nuagaon and Dhinkia villages coming under the proposed South Korean steel project.

The officials also made a visit to Dhinkia, which had remained out of bounds for government machinery for quite a while.

“The steel company officials have been directed not to go ahead with the civil construction such as boundary wall building and ground-levelling within the earmarked project site,” said Jagatsinghpur collector Satya Kumar Mallick.

“Local people are opposing the project seeking revision of the rehabilitation package. People submitted memorandum containing 22-charter of demands. The administration would fulfil the meritorious demands, in accordance with the Odisha rehabilitation and resettlement policy. Till the poll process is over, no work would be undertaken at the project site. The local people have given consent for extending whole-hearted co-operation to the forthcoming general election.”

In the face of resistance, 2009 general election could not be held at Dhinkia. Panchayat polls had met the same fate last time.

“The administration has managed the break the ice. People assured us of lending support for peaceful and incident-free polling in the areas. They have also agreed to remove the barricade gate that had been put in place at Nuagaon as a mark of protest to non-fulfilment of their demands. There would be four polling booths in the area. Four government-run primary schools have been identified as polling stations,” said Jagatsinghpur superintendent of police Satyabrata Bhoi.