MV-79 (Malkangiri): Excess water in the Polavaram dam creates havoc in Malkangiri district. Several villages in Motu under Kalimela block of this district and Motu tehsil are inundated by the overflowing waters of the Polavaram dam.
At present, people in Motu are a worried lot. The Indira Sagar Dam being constructed by Andhra Pradesh has caused fresh troubles for the people in Odisha.
Even as the construction of this project has reached the final stage, the Andhra Pradesh government has closed all gates of this dam, resulting in a bulge in the Godavari river, which is already brimming with rain water.
Kulavar in Andhra and its surrounding areas have already been flooded by excessive rains in the region. If the stored water in the Godavari river is not released immediately, large swathes of land in Motu area will be inundated.
Water has already reached close to 30 km from Motu. If it rains in the upper catchment areas, besides Motu, Baribancha, Binayakpur, Alma, Muraliguda and Peta villages will be inundated.
Yet, the district administration and the state government have no information about this disaster in the making. Locals have demanded that the state government speak to its Andhra counterpart without any delay.
The water of the Saveri river in Chhattisgarh which falls in the Godavari is not evacuated properly. This has caused an additional problem for the people of Motu in Odisha and Kont in Chhattisgarh.
Water is rising as gates of the Indira Sagar have been shut. The Excise and Commerce Minister and Konta legislator Kabasi Lachhama has sought the immediate intervention of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel in this matter.
Lachhma has submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister. A large number of villages in Chhattisgarh including Konta NAC and four wards will be heavily affected by the man-made flood, Lachhama said.
He suggested that the Andhra and Chhattisgarh Chief Ministers sit down together and find a solution to this emerging crisis.
PNN
