It is reported that a warlike situation prevailed on Saturday in Orissa’s Jagatsinghpur district, where POSCO proposes to put up a steel plant, following the death of an anti project activist earlier in the day.

Trouble began on Friday evening, when activists of the POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti were attacked by villagers supporting the proposed mega project near Gobindpur. Three people were injured when bombs were hurled at the activists. One of them died in the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack.

After this incident, the anti POSCO activists’ gheraoed the attackers who had positioned themselves atop a school building and the gherao continued till Saturday evening. The attackers, numbering 59, were released after top officials of the district administration held negotiations with the Mr Abhay Sahoo president PPSS and his team. At least 26 pro POSCO activists have been arrested.

POSCO Pratirodha Sangram Samiti has decided to observe a ‘black week’ from Sunday.

It was on June 22nd 2005 that the Orissa government and POSCO had signed a MoU to build the USD 12 billion steel plant near Paradip port in Jagatsinghpur by 2016.