On Wednesday, hundreds of children between the ages of 5 and 12 demonstrated against a proposed steel plant, in Orissa, India.
from http://www.andhracafe.com After walking across five villages including Trilochanpur, Patana and Govindpur, the children congregated at Dhinkia village. They were protesting under the banner of POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS), the main organisation opposing the project in the district.
The children shouted slogans against POSCO, holding placards and distributing leaflets, the police official said. Some children also delivered speeches.
‘I am ready to give my life with my parents because we will lose everything if the plant starts,’ Sujit Das, 5, a Class 1 student of Dhinkia Primary School told IANS.
‘We have had no peace since the day the state government signed a deal with the company,’ said 7-year-old Lucky Das of the same school. ‘We have almost stopped going to school and have decided to join our parents in the battle…’ (source)
From ActionAid: South Korean steel company POSCO’s mine plans = valued at over US$12 billion and India’s largest foreign investment to date – could displace over 20,000 people in the Indian state of Orissa and lead to environmental problems.
Last month clashes between police and villagers opposed to the project lead to 50 people being injured. Protestors have since blockaded villages in an attempt to keep their land. (source)
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