Police today lathi-charged anti-Posco agitators trying to prevent the socio-economic and forest survey, which resumed after four days at the project site for the Rs 52,000 crore mega steel plant.

Batons were used to disperse the agitators at Mathasahi village in Nuagaon panchayat area after they attempted to stop the survey work, officials said.

Nuagaon Sarpanch Bhaskar Swain claimed that he along with five other persons was injured in the police action.

The police, however, said none was injured in the police action.

After the dispersal of the protestors, teams from the Jagatsinghpur district carried out the survey at Mathasahi to assess socio-economic parameters of the villagers and count betel-vine plantations and fruit-bearing trees that would be affected by the project, Additional District Magistrate Saroj Kanta Choudhury said.

Around 200 armed police personnel stood by to ensure that the survey was not disrupted, Inspector-in-charge of Kujang police station Gupteswar Bhoi said.

The survey for the 12 mtpa steel plant, which had begun on May 25, was stopped on May 29 following stiff opposition by local residents.

Three persons have been arrested while trying to obstruct the survey in Nuagaon, officials said, adding the situation was tense but under control

The survey was taken up after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik held talks with local MLAs and MP and it was decided to exclude Dhinkia, considered as the epi-centre of anti-Posco agitation, from the project site.

Socio-economic and forest survey was completed in Gada Kujanga panchayat area during the first phase of work from May 25.

Though Posco-India had inked an MoU with the Orissa government in June, 2005, not an inch of land has so far been acquired for the mega project in view of stiff protest from locals.