Childrens army to skip school

PARADIP: After five-day break for Raja, the  land acquisition will resume on Friday. It coincides with the reopening of schools after summer vacation. But 500-odd children of Gobindpur and Dhinkia will instead lie on sand on the outskirts of the village forming a human barricade, opposing demolition of betel vines.   Even as Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) pitches women and children against the State Government, the administration seems determined to resume the process. “Land acquisition will begin as schedule unless weather plays truant,” said Kujang Tehsildar Basudev Pradhan.While these children want to protect their means of livelihood, those belonging to pro-Posco outfit fear trouble if they attend school. The pro-Posco families have urged the district administration to provide security to their children attending schools.   The children belonging to anti-Posco outfit seem to have been tutored well on the uncertain future that stares in their face. “We will lose our crops and my father will become a beggar,” said a 10-year-old Happy Dalai. They have also started a door-to-door campaign convincing other families to put up a united front.  According to a teacher, the primary school in Dhinkia has witnessed a fall in attendance in the last three years after children joined the agitation against Posco.  Now, with the children determined to skip school and join the human barricade, the academic process is bound to be hit.  Meanwhile, 170 pro-Posco families have  submitted  applications giving consent to demolition of betel vines.