Visit of foreign nationals to Posco site restricted

BHUBANESWAR: With tension prevailing in Posco's proposed plant site area near Paradip, Jagatsinghpur district administration has put restriction on visit of foreign nationals including South Koreans to the project area, official sources said today.

"We have received an advisory cautioning us not to organise visit of foreigners including South Koreans to the proposed plant site without informing the local police," Posco-India's DGM S N Singh told PTI.

The company would go by the advisory issued by the local police, Singh said claiming that as such there was no tension in plant site villages as reported in media.

The district administration, sources said, put the restriction after Y K Kim, one of the directors of Posco-India and a South Korean national, spent a night at the company's transit camp at Nuagaon village on December 27.

"We do not feel unsafe in the transit camp at Nuagaon where the local people are supporting the project," Singh said adding that the company set up its transit camp office with support of the villagers last month.

The local police on the other hand claimed that it did not want to take a chance after the December 14 violence where one person was killed and 24 others were injured in a clash between the anti-project brigade and contractor workers of the coastal road project.

Meanwhile, police have arrested five persons including Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) leader and former CPI MLA Narayan Reddy in connection with the December 14 violence.

"On earlier occasions, anti-Posco group had kidnapped and detained some South Koreans who visited the area. Now that the situation is tense, foreigners should not take risk," a senior police officer said adding local police would not be responsible if something wrong happens.

Posco's proposed site is spread over seven villages comprising Dhinkia, Govindpur, Nuagaon, Bhuyanpal, Polang, Bayanalakanda, Noliasahi and Jatadhar under Ersama block.