JAGATSINGHPUR: A GROUP of villagers staged demonstration outside the Collector’s office here on Tuesday demanding compensation for their betel vines that were acquired for Posco steel project.
The South Korean steel major had signed an MoU with Odisha Government in 2005 for setting up its 12 MTPA steel plant at Paradip. The `51,000 crore project did not make any headway due to protests by locals.
The villagers, under the aegis of Dhinkia Charidesh Khaytigrasta Panchasi and Sharmik Sangthan, said their betel vines in Dhinkia were acquired by the local administration and demolished for the project in 2013.
However, 65 villagers of Dhinkia are yet to get compensation for their vines. Stating that the district administration had also assured them of jobs in the Posco steel plant, they accused both the company and administration of cheating them.