Snooker player Subrat Das. Telegraph picture

Paradip, June 23: Children were back to schools and anganwadi centres in the Posco project area today, even as eminent ecologist and agriculture scientist Vandana Shiva joined dharna against the mega steel venture.

“After over a month of forced break, classes began today in the three government-run schools in Dhinkia and Patana villages. The children, who were skipping classes to join the resistance movement, turned up in large numbers,” said district inspector of schools Debendra Nath Das.

However, classes in the adjoining Gobindpur school could not start today as the students took part in the movement, said Das.

Earlier, the school and mass education department had sought a report from the local authorities inquiring why the classes were not being held in the Posco project area.

The anganwadi centres in these places were also abuzz with activities with kids coming back from the agitation site.

“Villagers have decided to send their children to the agitation spot on villagewise rotation. While children of one village would sit on dharna for two days, children from other villages would follow the suite on rotation basis. Study would be least hampered in this way”, said president of the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti Abhaya Sahu.

In an emergency meeting convened to put to an end the stalemate over land acquisition, senior officers of Jagatsinghpur district administration today sat together to work out possible strategies to expedite land acquisition for the project.

The officers, however, refused to divulge details of proceedings. The land acquisition remained on top of the agenda of today’s meeting, said an officer. “Matters pertaining to land acquisition for various projects in Jagatsinghpur district, eviction of encroachers from government land across the district apart from issues such as, removal of places of worship from public areas as per the apex court directives came under discussion. The Posco land acquisition issue was also deliberated during the meet,” said Jagatsinghpur collector Narayan Chandra Jena.

The administration today intensified the project work in Gadakujang and Nuagaon gram panchayats speeding up the boundary wall building, sand-filling, ground-levelling and tree-felling work.

The plinth and pillar laying work of the project boundary is in progress near Polang and Bayanalakanda village. Nearly 300-metre patch has so far been covered. These areas have already been acquired for the steel project. Moreover, the exercise of tree-cutting and ground-levelling of the acquired betel vineyards are also in full swing in Gadakujang and Nuagaon gram panchayats.

“Everything is going on with cooperation of the local settlers. The exercise in these places has been entirely resistance-free,” said Kujang tehsildar Vasudev Behera.

On the other hand, ecologist Shiva sought for relocation of the project from the rich agrarian belt.

“Setting up of the plant in these places, where local economy is flourishing with good crop yield, rich return from betel vines cash crop and fishing activity, is highly unjustified and unwarranted. Industrial ventures in such green belt would be ecologically and environmentally damaging,” she said.