JAJPUR: The indefinite protest by displaced families of Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd (NINL) steel plant in Kalinga Nagar industrial complex entered its third day on Wednesday.
The protesters, under the banner of Nilachal Bistapita Parivar, have since Monday blocked the Duburi-Danagadi road demanding permanent employment at the NINL plant. The plant was acquired by Tata Steel in July 2022 and named after Tata Steel Long Products Limited (TSLP).
Susanta Kumar Mohanta, a protester said the state government had acquired 2,500 acre of their land on the promise of providing job to one member of each displaced family at the plant. “However, since Tata Steel has now taken over the plant, the TSLP should give us jobs as per our qualification,” he demanded. Mohanta further alleged that police was hand in glove with the plant officials for their vested interests.
Though Kalinga Nagar additional district magistrate Sapan Nanda met the protesters on the day and held discussions, they could not arrive at any amicable solution. Meanwhile, six platoons of police force have been deployed at the protest site and near the steel plant.
Efforts to elicit response from ADM Nanda on the matter proved futile.