Ordeals of the displaced

Ordeals of the displaced
D.N.Singh, Bhubaneswar
After the recent killings in Orissa`s Kalinganagar over an issue of displacement and compensations, the major topic that has emerged to become a real headache for the state government is the absence of a clear cut policy on displacement and rehabilitation.

For more than the last 50 years it has remained an issue still unaddressed by the state machinery. If one looks at the figures between 1951 to 1995 and later till 2004-5, the number of displaced (but not rehabilitated) is more than four lakhs in the state. They in fact deserved to be rehabilitated after being paid the due compensation for the land and livelihood they had lost during the successive years.

Unmindful of the hard-driven existence of those thousands, there is no let up to the process of displacements. Industrialisation though, enjoys official priority in the present dispensation of things but continued neglect of the affected lot has by now boiled down to a point of repercussion. Notably, the recent incident in Kalinganagar has added fuel to the fire.

Unrest among the tribals from all across the state has taken root, where for one or the other project, the displaced lay in wait to assert themselves and strongly this time. Out of the total displaced so far, little above 35 has been properly rehabilitated and among the ones waiting for justice, the majority is tribal. Between 1951 to 1995, over 2,55,000 tribals have been displaced due to various projects.

The stories of such ordeals can be traced back 50 years to projects like the Hirakud Dam or the Rourkela Steel plant or even Rengali project where the displaced are yet to receive their dues. Several cases remain pending in the courts and in many cases the court verdicts in their favour gather dust in the govt offices. Ironically, many of the claimants are no more.

So as the years pass by, the ordeals of the people keep multiplying. In light of the above reality we can not dub the Jan 2 incident of Kalinganagar as a spontaneous outburst against any company or party. It is time for not only the Orissa government but for the Indian government also to reconsider the policies on displacement and rehabilitation.

National U-19 football

National U-19 football

The Imphal Free Press

IMPHAL, Jan 20: Manipur defeated Haryana by 4-0 goals in its second quarter final match of the ongoing 4th girls U-19 national football championship played today at Rourkela.

I Prameshwori scored two goals in the 8th and 19th minute of the match. While Sanathoi Chanu and Lalvarmoi Hinar also added on e goal each in the 25th and 38th minute.

Manipur will play against Orissa in its last quarter final league match on January 22.

Taking a break, Dilip in different league

Taking a break, Dilip in different league
Saturday January 21 2006 11:44 IST

BHUBANESWAR: The Sacred Heart Cathedral in Rourkela will witness a celebrity wedding on February 6. Indian hockey�s most dependable defender, Dilip Tirkey, will tie the knot with Meera Tirkey on that day. The couple will be blessed by Bishop of Rourkela Diocese, Rt Rev Alphones Bilung.

The marriage will be followed by reception at the Rourkela Club later that day and a party at Hotel Crown here on February 10. A host of international sports personalities is expected to attend the wedding.

Taking a short break from the ongoing Premier Hockey League (PHL) at Chandigarh, the 28-year-old full back was here for a couple of days to make preparations for the auspicious day.

Before leaving for Chandigarh to resume his role as the captain of defending PHL champions, Hyderabad Sultans, the Indian Airlines officer Tirkey disclosed that he and Meera have known each other for three years. ��We met at a family get-together,�� admitted Meera over telephone from Rourkela, her hometown. Asked what she liked about Dilip, the affable Meera said: ��He is a nice person and very down to earth.��

Unlike Dilip, the elegant-looking Meera did not play any sport. Instead, she concentrated on studies, taking a management course in rural development. But she disclosed that after her association with Dilip, she had started taking interest in sports, especially hockey. ��My father Isdore Tirkey played hockey and made good contribution to the game by organising the All-India Jaipal Shigh Gold Cup Tournament,�� said Meera, whose hobbies include music and painting.

SEFI men to go on leave from 7 Feb

SEFI men to go on leave from 7 Feb

Statesman News Service
ROURKELA, Jan. 16. — The Steel Executive Federation of India (SEFI) has resolved that its members shall go on mass casual leave on 7 February demanding that annual increment be given to them.
The (SEFI), which is the apex national body representing nearly 20,000 professionals working in different public sector units under the ministry of steel, have taken the decision at a meeting held here recently.
All members of the SEFI working at the different units of Sail, RINL, IISCO, MEL and Mecon across the country will en mass take leave on 7 February to protest against the non-implementation of the four per cent basic pay as annual increment. The members will sit on an indefinite hunger-strike commencing from the same day in New Delhi in protest against the apathetic attitude of the authorities towards the officers of all the affiliated units of SEFI.
The benefit is already available to the employees of NTPC, ONGC and even other PSUs, the Federation leaders said. “This matter has been raised by the SEFI from time to time considering the fact that the same had not been implemented earlier on the ground of poor financial performance of Sail and other steel companies at the time of revision of pay scales.
“Meanwhile, all these units have turned around their performance performing remarkably during the past two years or so,” said Mr Brahmananda Mishra, chairman of SEFI and a DGM in the Materials Management Department of Rourkela Steel Plant.
Sail and RINL, where the bulk of SEFI members are employed, have recorded the highest net profit since inception. “Very importantly, Sail itself has earned the distinction of becoming the second largest profit making company in the PSUs, next only to ONGC, in a fiercely competitive market situation,” said Mr Mishra.
He believed that the gap in the pay scales between SEFI constituents and several other PSUs has widened significantly and the disparity in the annual increment is one of the principal reasons that drive them to mass leave.

Orissa Govt committee to prepare rehabilitation package

Orissa Govt committee to prepare rehabilitation package
Kolkata: Orissa Government has set up a ministerial committee to prepare a rehabilitation package for the people displaced by industrial projects in the state.

The initiative was undertaken after 12 tribals and a policeman were killed in Kalinga Nagar in Jajpur district during a rally protesting displacement owing to the Tata Steel project there.

State's Steel, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs minister Padma Nabh Behera said the committee, set up under the chairmanship of state's Industry minister, would be coming up with the recommendations to be forwarded to the Cabinet for approval.

The rehabilitation package would include the re-positioning of the people of the region and conditions like jobs in the industry be applicable for all the industrial projects in the state, he said.

The package would likely be ready in a month's time, he added.

He said Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had also written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for returning surplus land of the Rourkela Steel Plant.

''We will discuss the matter with the Centre,'' he added.

He said the families of the Kalinga Nagar incident had been paid Rs five lakh by the state government and an identical amount had been granted by the Centre.

The next of the kin of the victims were also offered jobs, he added.

Trains on track

Trains on track (Telegraph)
OUR CORRESPONDENT
Jamshedpur, Jan. 12: The disruption of the movement of long distance and passenger trains under the Chakradharpur division of South Eastern Railway since Tuesday returned to partial normality today following the withdrawal of railway blockade by agitators from villages around Rourkela.

All long distance and local trains originating from Tatanagar left on its scheduled time today.

However, train service on the Mumbai route is yet to attain normalcy. The trains, including Howrah-Mumbai Geetanjali Express, Mumbai Mail and Howrah-Kurla Express, which were running on a diverted route since the past two days, were reported to be running several hours late. According to railway officials, some of the long distance trains are running 10-hours late.

Station manager of Tatanagar, T.K. Bhattacharya said for the convenience of passengers a special ticket counter has been opened at Tatanagar and Jharsuguda railway stations today.

Numerous passengers turned up at the railway station to refund their tickets for the cancelled trains. Long queues of passengers were seen at the computerised ticket counter at Tatanagar and other railway stations under the Chakradharpur division till late in the day.

Meanwhile, senior divisional commercial manager of Chakradharpur division M.L. Appa Rao, who was camping at Rourkela for the last two days, returned to the headquarter today. He and several senior officials had camped in Rourkela to pacify the agitators.

The agitators, who squatted on railway tracks, had demanded the return of the unused land acquired by Rourkela Steel Plant to the owners and permanent jobs to families whose lands have been taken by the Orissa government for setting up steel plants in the state.

Orissa to announce new rehab policy soon

Orissa to announce new rehab policy soon - Business India
Dillip Satapathy / Bhubaneswar January 13, 2006
The Orissa government will formulate a comprehensive resettlement and rehabilitation policy in three months. The announcement came after the first meeting of a ministerial committee set up following the January 2 Kalinga Nagar firing in which 12 tribals were killed. The meeting was chaired by state Industry Minister Biswabhusan Harichandan.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, Harichandan said the committee would study all the previous resettlement and rehabilitation policies of the state government and also those in force in other states before formulating a new policy. It would also include views of tribal leaders and social activists, he added.

Meanwhile, tribals continued to block the Daitry-Paradip expressway at Kalinga Nagar paralysing traffic for the 11th day even as Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced that he would visit Kalinga Nagar once normalcy was restored.

In another development, the economic blockade launched by tribals in Rourkela since Tuesday was called off today following a seven-hour discussion among tribal leaders, officials of the state government and the Rourkela Steel Plant.

The tribals had resorted to the blockade to demand proper rehabilitation of people affected by land acquisition for the Rourkela Steel Plant five decades ago.

Agitating under the banner of Rourkela Local Displaced Association (RLDA) and the Anchalik Surakhya Committee, the tribals had put forth a five-point charter of demands including restoration of the surplus land acquired for RSP in 1954 to the original owners and employment for other land oustees.

Orissa tribals call off protest in Rourkela

Orissa tribals call off protest in Rourkela

By Sarada Lahangir, Rourkela (Orissa): The tribals in Rourkela, who were on indefinite economic blockade since Tuesday, today called off their protest after meeting government officials and representatives of the Rourkela Steel Plant here last night.

Official sources said that the blockade was withdrawn at 3 a.m. (IST) today after getting a written assurance by the administration.

During the meeting, the tribals put forward their five-point charter of demands including the return of surplus land taken by the Rourkela Steel Plant 50 years ago, to the original owners, sources added.

Besides political leaders, the meeting was also attended by the Revenue Divisional Commissioner (Northern Division), Sambalpur, Ashok Dalvai, Additional District Magistrate, Shalini Pandit, RSP executive director (Personnel and Administration) S S Mohanty, RLDA President Ram Chandra Sahu, ASC president Anand Lakra.

The tribals were protesting under the banner of the Rourkela Local Displaced Association (RLDA) and Anchalik Surakhya Committee.

Since Monday, no train had plied between Rourkela and Chakradharpur as the agitators armed with bows, arrows and axes held the economic blockade. A large number of passengers were stranded at Rourkela railway station created a commotion over them not being able to board the trains for their onward journey in last two days.

Nineteen goods and 20 passenger trains were delayed on Wednesday as tribals squatted on the tracks. The blockade continued on Thursday morning.

Tribals were protesting against the killing of tribesmen in a police firing on January two. The incident triggered protest in Rourkela, 400 km from Bhubaneswar, when hundreds of tribals armed with traditional weapons blocked railway tracks and roads.

The State Government had earlier ordered a judicial inquiry into the firing and requested the Orissa High Court to nominate a sitting judge to conduct the probe.

Orissa Chief Minister Navin Patnaik and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi have announced a compensation for each of the dead Rs.500, 000 (11,190 dollars) and Rs. 50,000 (1,120 dollars) for those who injured from both the State and Central Government.

The violence at Kalinganagar is likely to impact the State government’s industrialization drive as it has signed at least 43 memorandums of understanding (MoU) with various companies for setting up steel plants.

The Kalinga Nagar industrial complex at Duburi is a 12,000-acre complex, where various industries propose to set up steel units.

While two companies Nilachal Ispat Nigam Ltd and Mideast Integrated Steel Ltd have already set up plants in the area, Tata Steel proposes to set up a six million ton steel plant there in two modules of three million tonnes each.

The plot had two villages, Chandia and Gadapur and six hamlets. Their residents are opposing the allotment on the grounds that they were paid Rs 37,000 per acre by the government in 1994 for land that is now being sold at Rs 3, 50,000 per acre to the Tatas.

SAIL plants are running headless

SAIL plants are running headless
Ajoy K Das, DNA Money
Tuesday, January 10, 2006 21:47 IST

KOLKATA: Speculation about an imminent cabinet reshuffle has thrown a spanner in the appointments of chief executive officers for Steel Authority of India Ltd’s (SAIL) plants at Rourkela and Durgapur.

Even though the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has cleared B N Singh and V K Gulati for appointment as managing director of Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) and Durgapur Steel Plant (DSP), respectively, the Union steel ministry is yet to give the final nod, even though the top slots at these two plants are vacant since December 31.

Singh is currently an executive director of SAIL’s raw materials division (RMD), while Gulati is an executive director at DSP.

The Rs 3, 300-crore first phase expansion of SAIL is expected to end in 2006-07 and much of this fund is riding on two of its plants at Rourkela and Durgapur. But the absence of a CEO may take a toll on the expansion schedule, SAIL sources said.

Sources said that speculation over an imminent cabinet reshuffle and the uncertainty over whether Ram Vilas Paswan will continue to hold dual charge of steel and chemicals and fertilisers has led to all crucial decisions in the steel ministry lapse into a limbo.

Whispers in the Union steel ministry has it that Paswan, with his diminished clout after the recent Bihar polls, may have to relinquish at least one of the two key ministries under him.

The steel ministry’s soft-pedalling on the appointment of managing directors for RSP and DSP is in sharp contrast to its move to name S K Roongta, director (personnel), SAIL, as the successor of V S Jain, chairman of the public sector steel producer, who is scheduled to retire in August 2006.

RSP managing director Sanak Mishra and DSP managing director S K Bhattacharya, both retired on December 31, 2005, and DSP has now been put under the charge of Roongta.

Orissa grapples with uniform rehab policy

Orissa grapples with uniform rehab policy
PRICE OF PROGRESS
Dillip Satapathy / Bhubaneswar January 10, 2006
Job provision likely for one member from each of the displaced families.

The Kalinga Nagar tribal-police clash has highlighted the need for a comprehensive resettlement and rehabilitation policy, particularly for tribal pockets in Orissa and elsewhere, to avoid such tragedies in future.

Orissa has a long history of such bloody clashes. In December 2000, three persons were killed in police firing at Maikanch, near Kashipur in Rayagada district while protesting against the establishment of a Rs 4,000 crore alumina project by Utkal Alumina International Ltd, a joint venture between Indal and Alcan.

Two persons were killed in a police action in 1997 during land acquisition for the now-shelved Tata Steel project at Gopalpur. The same company had to back out of a prawn culture project at Chilka following protests by local fishermen in early 90s.

The Vedanta group which is setting up a Rs 4000 crore alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi too had to face tribal protest in 2004.

At the root of this ire is the poor track record of rehabilitation of the project-affected people. Be it Rourkela Steel Plant, Nalco, Hirakud, Indravati or Rengali dam project, the people who had lost their homes to the projects are yet to be settled.

According to a study, more than a lakh families have so far been displaced by different irrigation and hydro power projects in Orissa.

Besides, more than 20 lakh other families too have been affected in varying degrees.

Judging from the ongoing development projects in the state, 5 lakh more people are expected to be affected during the first decade of this century. And most of them are tribals.

Says Tapan Padhi, a noted social activist, �When the status of the affected and the displaced people of the completed projects are assessed, it is seen that majority of them have failed to regain their pre-displaced living standard. On the contrary, most of them have become impoverished and marginalised. Anticipating similar fate, the local people are increasingly opposing industrial projects.�

For example, out of the 650 families displaced due to Nilachal Ispat Nigam in Kalinga Nagar, only 184 have got jobs. Similarly, out of the 59 families displaced due to the Jindal Stainless project, only 24 have got jobs and in case of Visa Industries, only a handful of the 23 families displaced have got jobs.

The industry is of the view that since the factories are high tech and the skill-level of the locals is very low, �it is not possible to give jobs to all the people affected by the project�.

In fact, apart from provision of job for one member from each of the displaced family, the resettlement and rehabilitation package for the Kalinga Nagar Industrial Complex prescribes additional ex-gratia amount of Rs 25,000 per acre of agricultural land, Rs 50,000 per family as house building assistance, hike in temporary shelter allowance to Rs 5000 per family, and all rehabilitation benefits to families having their house on encroached land. However, the ongoing protests clearly indicate that the tribals want more.

The cause of all displacement related problem in Orissa is that there is no comprehensive resettlement and rehabilitation policy and most of these schemes are sectoral or project-specific, says Pradip Jena, the project head of UNDP.

The UNDP in association with Department for International Development (DFID), UK government, had worked out a comprehensive resettlement and rehabilitation package for Orissa.

The draft policy, apart from suggesting payment of full compensation for all losses to the affected people at replacement cost and their proper settlement through allotment of land and jobs, seeks to elevate the position of project-affected people to stakeholder by asking the industrial and mining companies to earmark 5 per cent equity for them as preferential shares.

�The mining and industries projects should set apart 5 per cent of their net annual profit for local development schemes within a radius of 50 kilometres designed to improve living conditions of the displaced people in their new surroundings, such as health, education, communication, agriculture and irrigation�, it said.

Though the draft was submitted to the government in June last year, the latter is yet to take a decision, mainly on account of the industry which is unwilling to part with 5 per cent equity in favour of the local community.

Meanwhile, the Orissa government has set up a ministerial committee to take a decision on the matter and prepare a comprehensive resettlement and rehabilitation policy for the state.

Tribals resort to rail roko demanding job for displaced

Tribals resort to rail roko demanding job for displaced

Rourkela: Hundreds of tribals today resorted to 'rail roko' at Kukuda Gate between Bondomunda and Bisra stations, demanding jobs for the people displaced by the Rourkela Steel Plant and return of unused land acquired by the plant.

The agitators, led by Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MLA Halu Mundari, Biju Janata Dal Sundargarh district president George Tirkey and Displaced People's president Ram Chandra Sahu, squatted on the tracks.

Railway sources said the Tapaswani Express and the Jharsugura-Hatia Passenger train were detained following the agitation.

Senior district officials rushed to the spot to persuade the tribals to withdraw the blockade.

Sources said the demonstrators set ablaze three trucks, one Dumper and an autorickshaw near Beldihi, about 20 km from here.

Police had arrested nearly 35 agitators from the spot.

CPM leader Bishnu Mohanty and his supporters were taken into police custody for proceeding towards Kukuda Gate to take part in the demonstration.

Tribals block entry point to Rourkela, demand return of land

Close on the heels of the tribals-police clash at Kalinga Nagar, hundreds of armed tribals in Orissa today blocked entry points to this steel city since the wee hours demanding that the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) return its surplus land, taken about 50 years ago, to its owners.

Three trucks, two dumpers and a three-wheeler were set afire at Panposh and Beldih on the outskirts of the city, the police said but the organisations sponsoring the indefinite economic blockade denied the involvement of the tribals in the incident.

The tribals armed with traditional bows and arrows and axes took to the streets to enforce the blockade.

Boulders were kept on the roads and automobile tyres burnt at the entry points to the city, while a large crowd squatted on the railway tracks at Kukudagate in the suburbs paralysing train movement on Howrah-Mumbai route, official sources said.

As a result trains had been stopped at Jharsuguda, Rourkela, Chakradharpur and Jamshedpur stations, railway sources said.

The blockade, the leaders of the protest said, would continue till the government gave written assurance to fulfill their demand as those given earlier had come to nought.

The situation is being monitored by the administration and 23 platoons of armed police had been deployed in the city, official sources said.

The call for the blockade had been given jointly by the Rourkela Local Displaced Association and Anchalik Surakhya Committee agitating for the last one and half years demanding that the RSP authorities restore the surplus land, acquired for the establishment of the PSU but had not put to use so far to its owners.

The sources said about 700 people, who marched from nearby villages to the level crossing at Kukudagate, began the blockade at around 9 am and the crowd swelled to about 2000 subsequently.

The slogan shouting tribals were led by local BJD district chief George Tirkey, JMM legislator Halu Mundary, president of the Rourkela Local Displaced Association Ram Chandra Sahu and Anchalik Surakhya Committee president Anand Lakra.

Police said it had rounded up seven persons in connection with the agitation so far.

The Rourkela police superintendent D S Kutte, Sundergarh SP S Shiny and the Government Railway Police (GRP) SP were camping at the site of the dharna.

The Anchalik Surakhya Committee has also demanded that the RSP authorities identify about 3000 persons who had got employment in the plant on the strength of false displacement certificates and dismiss them.

The genuine oustees should be provided employment, it demanded.

source: outlookindia.com

2 power JVs of SAIL, NTPC to be merged

Friday, January 06, 2006

KOLKATA: India’s two leading public sector enterprises - Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) and National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd (NTPC) - are set to merge two of their existing 50:50 joint ventures into a single entity.


Both the joint venture companies NTPC SAIL Power Company Pvt Ltd (NSPCL) and Bhilai Electric Supply Company Pvt Ltd (BESCL) were established in March 2001 and March 2002 respectively. According to a senior SAIL official, the board of directors of the respective companies has already approved the proposal. He said, “The SAIL board is likely to approve it in the next meeting which is scheduled on January 27. Once it is cleared, the merger process would begin.”

NTPC and SAIL were for quite some time considering the merger of these two entities as they are in the same business of power generation and under the same management. Sources said the proposed merger would help both the entities to reduce the operational, administrative and managerial expenses.

At present, the total capacity of NSPCL is 120 MW, and it runs two 60 MW units, each located adjacent to the Durgapur and Rourkela steel plants. BESCL's total capacity is 74 MW and is spread over three units, located at Bhilai Steel Plant. BESCL is adding new power capacity of 500 MW (2 x 250 MW) at Bhilai. The estimated cost of this project is $563.63 million. Both companies are investing 30 percent of the project cost and the rest is funded through market borrowings. The first unit will be operational by the end of March 2007 and the second by October 2007.

Shutdown in Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh over tribal killings

Shutdown in Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh over tribal killings
Bhubaneswar | January 07, 2006 3:17:21 PM IST

The states of Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh are observing a day long shutdown today to protest the January 2 killing of 12 tribals at Kalingnagar by police.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) president Shibu Soren on a visit to Kalingnagar to express solidarity with the victims on Friday said the dawn to dusk shutdown in the three tribal dominated states would be supported by all opposition parties.

Protestors came out on the streets in Bhubaneswar on Saturday morning blocking roads and burning automobile tyres at CRP Square, Station Square and at other places in the city.

Traffic remained thin on the streets and most shops and business establishments remaining closed. Political activists were found squatting at some crossings. However, the Rourkela steel plant was reported to be functioning normally.

The ruling BJD-BJP combine had gone totally defensive by ordering the closure of educational institutions in view of Orissa shutdown today and had directed the administration and police to remain unprovoked during the shutdown.

Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has appealed to the people, especially youths, to maintain peace and calm during the shutdown. "No one should take advantage of the tragic incident, politically or otherwise," Patnaik said in his public appeal.

The Orissa police and administration are on high alert for the state-wide shutdown called by seven opposition parties. Two companies of Rapid Action Force have been requisitioned from the Centre. The state has also deployed its entire police and paramilitary forces to maintain law and order.

Barricades have been erected around the state assembly and secretariat complexes here while employees had been directed to come to office ahead of the scheduled time.

All schools and colleges in the state will remain closed and road and rail transport is likely to be affected.

The protest call was given by the Kalinga Nagar Surakhya Samiti, which had been supported by seven Opposition parties including the Congress and the Left.

The Opposition had given a call to paralyse the State to protest the firing and demand the resignation of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Besides the Congress, the parties supporting the stir are CPI, CPI (M), OGP, JMM, Janata Dal (S) and Samajwadi Party.

There was hectic activity in the State Secretariat on Friday as the Government increased the ex-gratia to be paid to the next of kin of the victims of Monday's police firing from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh.

Chief Minister Patnaik also directed that a person from each affected family be provided a job in the government or in a public sector undertaking and the injured persons should get an ex-gratia of Rs 50,000.

Orissa Government transferred the Jaipur District Collector Saswat Mishra and Superintendent of Police (SP) Binoytosh Mishra, who came under fire following the incident with the opposition parties as well as ruling BJP demanding their removal from the district

Saswat Mishra is transferred as Joint Secretary in the Agriculture department. His place of Jaipur District Collector would be taken over by the present Jagatsinghpur Collector Arabinda Padhee.

Binoytosh Mishra was shifted as SP (crime branch) and he has been replaced by Angul SP Asit Panigrahi.

A total of 13 people-a policeman and 12 civilians, were killed when tribals, opposing the proposed setting up of a steel plant at Kalinganagar industrial hub, had clashed with the police.

The BJP, BJD's alliance partner in the state, has openly condemned the police firing in Kalinga Nagar and is not likely to resist the bandh call.

The Navin Patnaik Government in Orissa, smarting under the recent killing of the tribals in police firing, faced trouble after its ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party, said on Friday that it could walk out of the coalition over the incident.

BJP leaders met the State unit head and urged him to walk out of the alliance.

The Biju Janata Dal has drawn flak from all quarters including its ally after the police firing killing 12 tribesmen at Kalinga Nagar in Jaipur district.

Taking strong exception to the incident, Juel Oram, president of the State unit of the BJP, said that the party would consult national president Rajnath Singh before taking any step.

Patnaik, had however, said he was yet to receive any communication from the BJP.

Orissa's 147-member assembly has 32 legislators from the BJP and 64 from the BJD.

Capitalising on the public ire against the recent Kalinga Nagar tribal killing, the Opposition Congress launched a tirade against the Naveen Patnaik government at a rally attended by the AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh and the AICC secretary Chandan Bagchi organised in the city on Friday.

Addressing the "Jana Samparka rally" here, Singh dubbed the BJD-BJP government as "anti-poor and pro-rich". He also criticised the state government for its failure to implement the pro-poor policies of the UPA-led Central government in the state. Later, talking to reporters the AICC leader also alleged that the state was being ruled by an ex-bureaucrat at whose behest the Kalinga Nagar police firing took place. Stating that his Party would always support the tribal cause, Singh said that the UPA was thinking of bringing out a policy and law regarding the tribal land settlement, rehabilitation and resettlement in the country.

The two-member All India Congress Committee (AICC) team, comprising Chandan Bagchi, its secretary and Chhattisgarh's Leader of Opposition Mahendra Karma, on Thursday said Congress has given a call for bandh in all the three states to take up the issue in a massive way.

Bagchi said the team would meet the UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi in a day or two and submit a report.

Saying that the Naveen Patnaik-Government crossed the 'limits of barbarism' and the incident was a reflection of 'fascism,' both the leaders said the UPA is going to take up the issue seriously.

Stating that Naveen should have tendered resignation after such an incident, both the AICC leaders said, the administration had many options, which it did not exercise.

The AICC members trained the gun at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) saying it was equally responsible for the killings of the 12 tribals. Bagchi said, BJP was hand-in-glove in the barbaric incident and is adopting double standards by expressing its concern.

Meanwhile, BJD general secretary and panchayati raj minister Dr Rout has appealed to the Opposition parties to cooperate with the government in restoring peace in the disturbed areas, and in the judicial inquiry into the incident.

Meanwhile, Lok Sangram Manch the organisation espousing the cause of tribals has called for a bandh in southern Orissa on January 11 to protest against the killing of 12 persons in the police firing at Kalinga Nagar.

The state went on a boil after the police shot and killed 12 tribals after they were attacked with arrows and stones, killing a constable. The incident occurred after about 1,000 tribals, some armed with bow and arrows, opposed a move by authorities to acquire land for the setting up of a steel plant in Jaipur district.

About 25 people, including four policemen, were also wounded in the clash. The police had been assigned to protect local officials who were demarcating the land for the proposed steel plant.

Police said authorities had offered compensation to the tribes living on the land but they had rejected it.

Police said the land in Jajpur had been acquired by the government and was to be given to India's largest private steel producer, Tata Steel Ltd.

Foreign and Indian private steel companies are setting up huge steel mills in the mineral-rich states of Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, but villagers in these areas complain they are not adequately compensated for their land. (ANI)

United devotion of Gosala Samiti and Youth Hostel

On the eve of New Year, Vedvyas Gosala Samiti and Youth Hostel united them selves for the procession. Actors came from Brindavan for Raslila were also present in the procession with other devotees. This procession started from Bisra Chowk and finished at Raslila place.