Naveen Patnaik to hold talks with Posco agitators on Sunday

Bowing to pressure from agitators opposing South Korean steel major's Rs 52,000-crore project, Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik today agreed to hold talks with POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) representatives in a bid to end the five-year-old deadlock.

The state government also decided to stop the ongoing socio-economic and forest land survey work at the proposed
plant site villages near Paradip until discussions with the
PPSS activists were pending.

"I will have direct talks with the PPSS activists on Sunday evening," Patnaik told reporters after meeting a delegation of six political parties -- CPI, CPI(M), Forward Bloc, RJD, SJP and JMM.

Though Patnaik was initially reluctant to have direct talks with the people, he accepted the demand of the six parties, CPI-M state secretary Janardan Pati said. 

"Patnaik has also promised not to conduct survey work and keep police force away from the villages," he added. 

Voicing displeasure over the "attitude" of bureaucracy, CPI leader Abani Boral said, "we feel bureaucracy is the major hurdle between the people and the chief minister."

While Patnaik is regularly meeting POSCO officials, there should be no difficulty in having talks with the people who would lose their land and livelihood, said CPI state secretary Dibakar Nayak.