States »EasPosted at: Aug 10 2021 8:37PM Tension in Rajnagar over work on Mega Piped water project, Prohibitory order promulgated for two months
Kendrapara, Aug 10 (UNI) The district administration on Tuesday promulgated prohibitory order under section 144 CrPc till October 8 in three panchayats in the wake of protest to mega piped water project.
Tension continues to prevail in Rajkanika as the villagers under the banner of Kharasrota Banchao Sangram Samiti (KBSS) have started protesting the mega piped water project.
The district administration has deployed massive police force and provided security to the staff of RWSS of Kendrapara to escort the machineries to the proposed Mega Piped Water supply Project
on Kharasrota river near near Barunadiha under Rajkanika block of
Kendrapara Sub Divisional Magistrate Niranjan Behera, today promulgated Section 144 CrPC in Bharigada,Barunadiha, Balakati GPs till October 8 next prohibiting public gatherings in an around 500 metre radius of project site
Gatherings of more than 4 people have been prohibited except for the government officials and site managers ,supervisors ,workers of the Mega piped water Supply project.
Any gathering of more than 5 people in wards of Bharigada,Barunadiha, Balakati GPs as well as any motorable, non motorable road ,walkway leading to the project site from any corner has been prohibited for individuals ,Mr.Behera said.
Section 144 CrPc was imposed as the administration anticipated large scale of violence by the local protestors ,which is likely to cause damage the project
Kendrapara SP Madkar Sandeep Sampat, has made elaborate police arrangements and deployed over 11 platoons of police force.
Senior police officers have also been deployed to maintain law and order situation and the SP
himself is keeping a close vigil on the development by monitoring the situation.
The agitators under the banner of Kharasrota Bachao Sangrama Samiti (KBSS) led by
Debendranath Sharma, the former Congress MLA of Aul, Dolagobinda Nayak, the former MLA,
staged a road blockade today at Bharigada protesting the the Mega piped water supply project
of the state government.
The police made preventive arrest of about 50 activists of KBSS ,including Debendranath
Sharma, the former Congress MLA of Aul, Dolagobinda Nayak, the former MLA.
According to the agitators, the Mega Drinking Water Project would supply drinking water to 526 villages of 91 Panchayats of Chandabali,Tihidi,Dhamanagar,and Basudevpur blocks of Bhadrak
District by extracting water from river Kharasrota which flows between Aul and Rajkanika blocks,
near Barunadiha
The locals alleged that if water would be extracted for the mega pipe water project then the water
flow would decrease and the salinity of the water would increase leading to acute scarcity of
drinking water.
This would also make an adverse impact to the flora and fauna of world famous Bhitarkanika
national park and the bio –diversity of the Bhitarkanika National park will be at stake .
Official sources said as per plans, the project will draw water from the Kharasrota river near Barunadiha under Rajkanika block of Kendrapara..
The Rs 892 crore project has been approved under Basudha Yojana by the Odisha government
as the river water of Baitarani, Salandi, Mantei and Kansabansa ,which are major rivers in the
State, are not fit for human consumption.
The project will be implemented by a Hyderabad –based consultancy in 2019 and it has been
targeted to complete in 2022.
KBSS advisor and former Aul Debendra Sharma Kharasrota river is the lifeline and people of Kendrapara completely depend on it for their drinking and agricultural requirements.
Any attempt to divert the water to supply in other areas will be opposed vehemently.
Notably, a case has earlier been filed at the National Green Tribunal (NGT) against the proposed mega water project in February last as the social activists apprehended that the mega water project would be a threat to the biodiversity of Bhitarkanika National park
Work on the mega pipe water project started today by the district administration amid tight police arrangements and promulgation of prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPc.
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