Villagers cry intentional flooding near Beldihi village in Odisha, NTPC denies

ROURKELA: Authorities of NTPC’s Dulunga coal mines in Sundargarh’s Hemgir block have been accused of causing artificial waterlogging by dumping overburden to force the remaining displaced families to relocate from Beldihi village.

At least seven disgruntled project-affected families were complaining against dumping of mines overburden around Beldihi village and blocking of natural rainwater drainage routes for the last two months. But none took notice of the issue till the waterlogging situation aggravated after the recent heavy rains.

Dileswar Bhoi (60) claimed that due to heavy rains, he and his nine family members including children were forced to take shelter on the verandah of another house situated on high ground. “I feared my house will collapse after it was submerged in rainwater. My neighbour Sabit Rout also faced similar situation and had move to a dry place for three days,” he said.

Alleging that the company is deliberately troubling the affected families, Bhoi said they would continue the fight for their legitimate claims of adequate compensation.Sanaghumunda sarpanch Rebati Chhatria, who is fighting for the beleaguered villagers, said except for these seven project-affected families, other displaced persons of Beldihi have shifted to the resettlement colony in the nearby Kalamegha village.

“These families have not been properly compensated on the plea of technicalities after Sundargarh administration wrongfully denied them several components of rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) benefits. NTPC is in a hurry to augment coal production and to remove the remaining families, its local authorities are causing waterlogging,” alleged Chhatria.

However, NTPC-Dulanga authorities refuted the allegations and said the company is committed to the welfare of people residing in peripheral areas. Beldihi is geographically located in a low-lying terrain and usually impacted by storm water accumulation. NTPC-Dulunga has deployed a team to drain the rainwater from the village, they said.