IOCL refinery project victims staged Dharana and protest meeting in Paradeep
Orissa   25-Apr-2011

The original land losers and displaced for the IOCL refinery project in Paradeep, staged a Dharana and protest meeting in front of IOCL administrative office building at Paradeep on Monday afternoon.

Interestingly IOCL project’s parental opponent organization Bistapita Parivar Kalyana Seva Samabaya Samiti led by Jagatsinghpur MP Bibhuprasad Tarai was organized the agitation where political leaders cutting their party affiliations took part in this stir. Speaking on the occasion participant leaders fumed against IOCL authorities including civil administration have been allegedly neglecting the displaced families those sacrificed about 3330 acres of private lands for the project inception In the year 1998, project authority and state government had assured the affected people to be reasonably compensated and displaced would be taken special care with regard to getting housing facility and employment once the project started, ironically nobody care to obey the earlier promises had given to them.

Surprisingly civil administration who held RPDAC meeting last year decided to implement prompt measures benefiting IOCL displaced families did not come up with any result till date, said MP Mr Tarai, however he maintained for the IOCL project starting the local people’s sacrifice would be remembered for ever as no tangible agitation had started against IOCL by any organization as consequence IOCL acquired land peacefully without any hurdles but when the project is coming up shortly the project affected people are going to be ignored, those had supported earlier full heartedly so this discrepancy would be resisted by agitation so we are giving 15 days time to the IOCL authority to consider victim people’s grievances unless we would be forced to intensify our agitation in coming days, MP cautioned.

BJD legislator Devasis Samantray participating the protest meeting too expressed his displeasure against IOCL authority allegedly neglecting victim land losers grievance and maintaining partiality providing jobs to them so it is obvious the enraged victim people have no option to go against IOCL so he maintained his allegiance towards MP Tarai endeavor providing justice to the victims.

Congress leader and former Erasama MLA Bijaya Nayak speaking on the occasion said the local fishermen have been seriously affected due to the IOCL project and water bodies of surrounding villages have been polluted due to IOCL pipe stretching works surprisingly only direct affected people became able to get compensation but the people those hurt indirectly for the project work yet to get any compensation so IOCL authority should take needful for the inconsistency, he fumed.

Communist leader Gourahari Nayak who took part in this protest meeting did not afraid to speak against IOCL for their repeated apathy towards local land losers and displaced families and said when state government is giving importance to start massive industrialization across the state but on turn not conscious about the affected people that too exposed from the plight of the IOCL victims from Paradeep.

Sources said thousands people from the IOCL project affected areas took part in the agitation latter a nine point charter of demands stating several grievances of victim people had submitted to the executive director IOCL refinery project and agitation was called off at evening.