Date:12/01/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/01/12/stories/2006011208501400.htm

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Tribal blockade: Naveen's plea to Centre

Staff Reporter

BHUBANESWAR : Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday urged the Union Government to intervene in the agitation launched by the tribals displaced by the Rourkela Steel Plant in Sundargarh district.

In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he said it was the Centre's responsibility to deal with the issue, as the plant was a Central undertaking.

The tribals began a blockade in Rourkela on Tuesday morning demanding that the plant authorities return the unused land to them and provide jobs to the families displaced five decades ago.

The agitation continued for the second day on Wednesday, affecting movement of trains in the region. The tribals are agitating under the banner of the Rourkela Local Displaced Association and the Anchalika Suraksha Committee.

The agitation, however, has not affected the plant's production.