Jajpur: Agitation against land acquisition
for industry raised its head once again in Orissa`s steel hub
in Kalinga Nagar where one person was killed and 12 others
were injured following a clash between villagers and police
today.
Trouble erupted at Chandia when some villagers, facing
displacement due to a steel project and currently lodged in
a rehabilitation centre, entered the village to take out their
household goods under police protection.
As soon as the securitymen accompanying the project
officials arrived at the village, a crowd attacked them with
sticks and stones, Jajpur Superintendent of Police D S Kuttey
said.
Police lathicharged and fired rubber bullets to disperse
the agitating mob. An elderly person while trying to escape
fell down and died after his head hit a roadside boulder,
police said, adding about 12 others sustained injuries during
the clash.
The village, considered to be a stronghold of Bisthapan
Birodhi Janamanch (BBJM) spearheading an agitation against
acquisition of land for a steel plant, soon turned into a war
zone, police said.
Additional force was deployed in the area.
The incident came four years after 14 people were killed
in police firing while agitating against land acquisition in
the area for industry.
PTI
