24 held for ransacking water project site

KENDRAPARA:  Amid simmering tension in Rajkanika, police on Friday arrested 24 persons for ransacking the construction site of the mega drinking water supply project and assaulting government officials at the riverside village of Bharigada.

On Thursday, a large number of villagers under the aegis of Kharasrota Banchao Sangram Samiti (KBSS) went on a rampage spree at the project site in violation of the prohibitory orders protesting the government’s plan to divert water from Kharasrota river in Kendrapara to the neighbouring Bhadrak district. They had damaged several vehicles and camp offices of the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS) besides assaulting police personnel and RWSS staff present at the site.

Additional SP of Kendrapara Indramani Behera said the arrested persons were booked under sections 143, 283, 147, 149 and 395 of the IPC and provisions of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984. Meanwhile, unease prevailed in many riverside villages of Rajkanika after the police crackdown on protestors. Accusing the police of violating human rights, convener of KBSS Debendra Sharma alleged that the cops picked up innocent villagers including women and children from their homes in midnight raids. “Police also mercilessly beat up many persons and illegally arrested them. Over 500 persons have been implicated in false cases,” he alleged.

Gitanjali Sahoo of Mukundapur said her 58-year-old husband Subash, who underwent a heart surgery last month, was sleeping when armed policemen barged inside their house and mercilessly thrashed him. “When I protested, they also beat me up with lathi and arrested my husband though he was at home during the violence on Thursday,” she claimed.

While several villagers voiced similar allegations against the police, Kendrapara Sub-Collector Niranjan Behera said, “We will take strong action against all the persons involved in the violence. The project work will be restarted soon.”

The Rs 754 crore mega piped water supply project has been approved by the State government under Basudha Yojana to supply drinking water to Chandabali, Tihidi, Basudevpur and Dhamnagar blocks besides 47 wards in Basudevpur municipality, Dhamanagar and Chandabali NACs of Bhadrak district.

However, people of Bharigada and Barunadiha panchayats of Rajkanika and Balakati in Aul block are opposing the project as they apprehend that the Kharasrota river would dry up after its implementation. They fear inadequate water flow in Kharasrota will gradually destroy farming in 220 riverside villages having a population of around four lakh in Aul and Rajkanika.