Paradip: Activists opposing the proposed steel plant of South Korea's Posco today came face to face with the authorities, who arrived at the plant site near here for conducting a socio-economic survey and demarcating land.

The activists, carrying swords, canes and other weapons, had a face-off with about 400 armed policemen accompanying the officials to Dhinkia village, police said, adding that both sides were positioned barely 50 meters from each other.

The administration team was led by Jagatsinghpur district collector P K Meherda and police superintendent R K Sharma, while the protesters' group was headed by POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) president Abhaya Sahoo, sources said.

The administration had categorically said that Dhinkia would be excluded from the survey and land demarcation, but PPSS activists said they did not trust the government.

"Government had earlier said no survey would be conducted in Dhinkia gram panchayat comprising three villages - Dhinkia, Gobindpur and Patana. Now they say only Dhinkia village, not the entire panchayat, will be excluded," Sahoo told PTI.

"Villagers were ready to lay down lives opposing the survey," he said. The sources said the administration had completed nearly 75 per cent of survey and land demarcation work at Gobindpur.

Last year, the activists, who are opposed to displacement of the locals due to the project, had twice abducted Posco officials when they went for site inspection, but had let them off with a warning not to return.

Posco had signed an MoU with Orissa government in 2005 to build a 12 mtpa steel plant at an investment of Rs 52,000 crore.

Source : PTI