KORAPUT: A Group of villages under Narayanpatna block in Koraput district is not getting water for irrigation for several years now. The problem, though, has not woken up the district administration from its slumber. With pleas to construct an irrigation canal having fallen on deaf ears, the harassed villagers have now taken upon themselves the task of digging the canal.
People residing in Tala-Renga, Kandha-Padapadari and Bhaliput - that are located within 1 km radius of each other - have been building a concrete canal for the last 25 days without any help of the local administration. The villages are surrounded by a mountain from where flows a stream, Renga Jharna. They plan to divert water from the stream to the canal and irrigate 70 acres of agricultural lands. The total length of the canal would be 150 metres.
Households in the three villagers have contributed money as per their capacity and land holding for constructing the canal. There are 1,000 families in the three villages.
Wadeka Phalu, a villager of Tala-Renga, said an amount of `five lakh has been collected. “We had approached the district and block administration officials for help several times in the past but when they did not pay any heed, we decided to take up the work ourselves. So far, `three lakh has been spent on the construction,” he said.
Apparently, these villages under Narayanpatna had been affected by Chasi Muliya Adivasi Sangha agitation for land rights since 2009.
After the surrender of Sangha leader Nachika Linga, the State Government had launched Operation Blue Moon to ensure all-round development of the area. Funds were pumped in for development projects but it did not yield any result.
As a result, many villages in the block continue to suffer for lack of basic amenities like drinking and irrigation water, healthcare and road infrastructure.