BERHAMPUR: A 70-km padayatra covering 28 villages to protest Odisha government’s apathy towards Rayagada and Gajapati districts where residents are set to be affected by Neradi barrage construction by Andhra Pradesh concluded on Sunday.
Led by members of Vamsadhara Basin Protection Samiti (VBPS), it started from Panidangar under Gudari block of Rayagada on August 15 and ended at Palsing under Kasinagar block of Gajapati. The outfit held a meeting at Palsing under the chairmanship of Bramhananda Patnaik who slammed the State government for its inaction on the sensitive issue which led to the Vamsadhara Water Disputes Tribunal allowing AP to construct the Neradi barrage on June 22 this year.
“After the tribunal gave its nod to the barrage, the samiti along with residents of Gunupur and Kasinagar urged the government to construct the Panidangar project over Vamsadhara river near Gunupur but in vain,” said Patnaik, adding that silence of the administration despite the fact that construction of the barrage will result in submergence of several villages in the areas has triggered resentment.
Among other conditions put forth by the tribunal, it had directed Odisha government to acquire 106 acre of land in Kasinagar required for the barrage and hand it over to AP within a year from the date of publication of the order. In return, the AP government would have to give compensation to the affected people in Odisha with rehabilitation of land losers given top priority.
Odisha government has spent over `100 crore towards the ongoing dispute over the Vamsadhara river since 2005. But the foundation stone for Panidangar project, laid 16 years back in a bid to irrigate thousands of hectare within the State limits, is yet to be complete. The VBPS submitted a memorandum in the connection to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik through Gunupur Sub Collector J Sonal on the day.