At U-S Dollars twelve billion, the POSCO (POSH-KO) project is the largest foreign direct investment in India. According to the M-O-U signed between the company and state government, the plant will produce twelve million tonnes of steel per year and hire about forty-eight-thousand people. But the project has attracted a lot of controversy over its social and environmental cost. The project will require at least four-thousand-and-four acres of land, which would mean displacing thousands of villagers, most of whom are tribals. The plant will also generate four-hundred kilos of solid waste for each tonne of steel and use up one trillion cubic metres of water, not to mention laying waste to the nearby mangrove ecosystem. POSCO has already acquired one-thousand-one-hundred-and-thirty-five acres of land in the face of a stiff local opposition. However, the debate over the project’s stated economic gains and its projected social and environmental cost refuses to die down. Subhra Kanti Gupta visited the area to survey the situation on the ground
GEOFFREY MACDONALD | BANGLADESH’s streets have again erupted with political violence. In early July, a university student protest began over Bangladesh’s job quota system that disproportionately benefits the descendants of Bangladesh’s 1971 liberation war fighters, which many students view as unfair and outdated. Early last week, peaceful protests turned violent as police and ruling party…
LOOKEAST REPORT | POLICE and security officials in Bangladesh fired bullets and tear gas at protesters and banned all gatherings in the capital on Friday, as internet and mobile services were cut off after days of deadly clashes over the allocation of government jobs. The protests, which began weeks ago but escalated sharply on Monday,…
DR MANAS DAS | SOME say it is an anachronism. To some others it is a mere fancy project. A considerable few are not sure about the future of this renovated legacy and they fume at the brouhaha over it. But not many, in their senses, can dispute the glamour and pride associated with the…
LOOKEAST REPORT | INDIA and Bangladesh moved to bolster their defense relationship and signed agreements for expanding cooperation in maritime security, ocean economy, space, and telecommunication sectors, as New Delhi tries to present itself as a regional power. The agreements were signed during Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to India, the first foreign leader…
DR APARNA PANDE | INDIA’S diplomatic influence has grown significantly through 2023, attracting interest from countries worldwide looking to strengthen economic and strategic bonds with the South Asian nation. However, relations with its closest neighbors remain conflict–ridden and problematic. While its western neighbor Pakistan often captures international attention, its eastern neighbor, Myanmar (formerly Burma), is…
