Bhubaneswar, July 9: The Rourkela civic administration today clamped Section 144 of CrPC on a piece of land, which has been earmarked for a proposed sewerage treatment plant, at Bhawanipur.
The proposed plant will be built under the smart city project. The Rourkela Steel Plant owns the land measuring nearly 38 decimals.
The administration has already taken possession of the land in the presence of police. Local tribal groups, who occupied the land, resisted the takeover, claiming that they had a right over the patch since their ancestors had stayed there for long. Local resident Ananta Oram said: "Our ancestors worshipped on the land and took up cultivation there."
Over the past two days, a group allegedly from the nearby Bhawanipur slum, put up religious flags on the land.
This morning, the administration arrived with five platoons of police, led by deputy superintendent of police P.K. Mishra, to take possession of the land. At that time, 50-odd protesters gathered at the site and started opposing them. They almost came face to face with the police. However, the heavy deployment of police ensured that the situation was in control and there was no breach of peace at the time of filing this report. The protesters relented after the officials had made them understand the repercussions of taking law into their hands.
After taking possession, guards from the Rourkela Steel Plant erected a barbed wire fencing with red flags around the land to demarcate the area. They also demolished a temporary shed that used to function as a pig shelter. The officials later made a public announcement about the land's status and the result of any law and order situation.
Tehsildar Biswajit Rath said a few persons had congregated on the spot to resist the eviction. "However, they withdrew after persuasion by the administration," he said.
Mishra said: "We have deployed five platoons of police, and the cops will be deployed here till the fence comes up." Sub-collector Himanshu Behera said the prohibitory order would remain in force for a month.
