Jeypore: A mass cease work by the home guards engaged in the prohibited zone of Upper Kolab Hydro Electric Project here in Koraput left the crucial installations without any protection for the last four days. This has triggered panic among the people of the district.
According to reports, while 60 home guards were deployed at the prohibited zones of the project, they have been on a strike near the Assembly from January 15 seeking fulfillment of their seven-point charter of demands.
Locals expressed shock over the unguarded power station since the district is considered a stronghold of the Maoists. Threat from the ultras always looms large on the project, they said.
The multi-purpose project is also known as the lifeline of the district as it not only generates power but helps in irrigation of thousands of hectares of farmland. This apart, people of Damanjodi, Koraput, Sunabeda and Jeypore towns depend on this project for drinking water.
With no one manning the surroundings of the project, Maoist violence in the prohibited zone cannot be ruled out. There are also threats to the lives of cattle and human beings as they can fall in the water body, locals said.
It is high time the administration repaired the iron net put up around the project as they are in a miserable state, they added.
PNN
