Land row hits Rath cheer at Posco site by Ashis Senapati

The impasse over land acquisition for the Posco project cast a shadow on Rath Yatra festivities in Dhinkia gram panchayat area in Jagatsinghpur district on Sunday. The number of villagers thronging the annual car festival at the Jagannath temple at Gadakujang had reduced drastically, pointing to the uncertainty prevailing among the people in the area.

"The residents of Dhinkia, Gobindapur, Patana, Trilochanpur and other villages are now oscillating between despair and confusion. They are facing displacement from their homes and farms after the state government started acquiring land for the South Korean company. This has certainly dampened their cheer," said Sishir Mohapatra, the general secretary of Posco Pratirodhak Sangram Samiti (PPSS).

Even, children in the area a dejected lot. "I always waited for Rath Yatra because nobody told me to study during the days of the festival. But for the past few years, we could not arrange the car festival as our parents were busy protesting against the confiscation of our lands by the state government," said Saroj Jena (12), a Class VI student of Dhinkia High School.

The devotees at Gadakujang said this may be the last Rath Yatra at the 400-year-old temple. "Rampant industrialization will force us to migrate to other places. I had decided to leave Gadakujang after the government acquired my three acres of betel vine farms and mango orchards recently. This is the last time I am pulling the chariot at the Gadakujang temple," said Satrughan Samal, a villager.