Click to play videoBhubaneswar: There is a clear divide between pro and anti-POSCO supporters at the proposed South Korean steel plant site in Orissa.
Dozens have been injured in the violence, but the Orissa government believes that Thursday's violence is in fact a breakthrough for them.
Orissa's Commerce and Transport Secretary, who is also the nodal officer for the POSCO project, Priyabrata Patnaik told CNN-IBN that if the POSCO project does not take off, it would be a disgrace to the state and Thursday's violence has proved that people want POSCO in Orissa.
"Thursday's violence would be the last clash there. Now the anti-POSCO people will not dare to raise their voice. This has proved that they are a minority there and most of the local people want POSCO for their development," says Patnaik.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has a lot of stake over POSCO. If POSCO withdraws, his image will take a severe beating. Whenever violence occurs the police is nowhere to be seen and the Chief Minister believes his new tactics of engaging the locals in the fight is working well. He also says normalcy will soon return to the state.
"The district administration is negotiating there and are seeing to it that peace returns soon," Naveen Patnaik said.
However, with anti-POSCO supporters preparing for a counter attack, peace does not seem to be coming any time soon.
It's interesting to note that the state government is taking the violence at the POSCO site not as a set back but rather as a break through.
It believes the pro-POSCO supporters have now really outnumbered the anti-POSCO supporters.
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