Agitators Vandalise Mega Piped Water Project in Kendrapara

Bureau,Odishabarta

Kendrapara: The protest against the mega piped water project in Kendrapara district took a violent turn on Thursday when hundreds of villagers broke the police cordon and damaged the project site. Defying prohibitory orders, the protesters, led by Kharasrota Bachao Sangram Samiti (KBSS) advisor and former Congress Aul MLA Devendra Sharma and former MLA Dalagobinda Nayak marched to the construction site to protest against the project.

The Government, through Barunadiha mega piped water project on Kharasrota river in Rajkanika block of the district, has proposed to provide drinking water to around seven lakh people in 91 panchayats under Chandbali, Tihidi, Dhamnagar and Basudevpur blocks of Bhadrak district.

The agitators have been protesting against the project as they apprehend that the riverbed of Kharasrota would become dry, salinity of the water will increase and people of Aul and Rajkanika blocks will face acute scarcity of drinking water. The people will also be deprived of irrigation if the project is implemented, they alleged.

Hundreds of locals, including women, under the banner of KBSS, broke the police cordon, scuffled with the police, ransacked the temporary camp office of Hyderabad-based Mega Engineering and Infrastructure Limited, entrusted for the construction of the project, damaged vehicles, ambulance, water tanker, JCB and other machines at the project site.

A couple of police personnel, including the SDPO of Pattamundai, sustained minor injuries during the clash with the agitators when the latter tried to force their entry into the project site. Apprehending law and order situation, the district administration deployed 16 platoons of police force at the project site and adjoining areas.

KBSS secretary Bidhan Das has threatened to intensify the agitation if the Government does not scrap the project. KBSS advisor Devendra Sharma said, “Kharasrota river is the lifeline of the people of Kendrapara who completely depend on it for drinking water and agricultural activities.” He said the people are determined to oppose the project at any cost. The villagers are demanding construction of a barrage in Kharasrota river before carrying out the project work.

The protestors also argued that the biodiversity of Bhitarkanika National Park will be at stake if the project is implemented. The Rs 892 crore project was taken up under Basudha Yojana as the river water of Baitarani, Salandi, Mantei and Kansabansa, which flows through Bhadrak district, is not fit for human consumption. The State Government has set a target to complete the project by 2022.

Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS) Executive Engineer Basanta Naik said the construction work for the project would resume in the next four to five days. Quoting the Detailed Project Report prepared by IIT-Hyderabad and reports of scientists of OUAT, he said only 5 per cent of water would be drawn for the mega piped water project. He clarified that the river will not dry up nor will it have any adverse impact on Bhitarkanika biodiversity as claimed by the villagers.

#dinalipi