JK Lakshmi Cement today said it would go ahead with plans to set up Rs 1,500-crore plant in Durg district of Chhattisgarh even as the under-construction facility was damaged by some local villagers this week.

The cement maker has “reiterated commitment” to complete the 2.7 million tonnes Greenfield plant “with an investment of over Rs 1,500 crore” at Ahiwara village in Durg district, JK Lakshmi Cement said in a statement.

The statement said that on Thursday “miscreants with vested interests, illegally” entered the plant site with malafide intentions and caused serious damages at the construction site, which was at an advanced stage of completion.

Hundreds of local villagers had set on fire a portion of the under-construction plant, angered by the company’s reported reluctance to give jobs to project-affected persons.

“The agitation has been on for over a month now and those involved have been trying to delay and disrupt work at the construction site. The local villagers have been seeking job for all irrespective of their skills and abilities,” the company said.

“Senior directors of JK Lakshmi Cement are on ground since yesterday supervising the complete situation. The damage done is being ascertained and quoting any figure at this stage would be misleading as it would easily take about a week to determine the exact loss,” it said.

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