Balangir: A standoff has emerged over the Lower Suktel Dam project in Balangir district, with dozens of tribal families refusing to vacate Kumiapali village despite an official evacuation notice warning that the area could soon be submerged with the rise in the reservoir’s water level. The Lower Suktel Rehabilitation and Resettlement authorities Thursday issued a public notice asking residents of Kumiapali, situated within the reservoir’s submergence zone, to relocate immediately to the rehabilitation colony at Kapilbahal. The notice warned that the village was likely to be completely inundated during the current monsoon, posing a serious threat to life and property.
The notice, signed by Superintending Engineer Ajay Kumar Behera, urged villagers to shift to the resettlement colony at the earliest to avoid any untoward incident. However, the move has drawn strong opposition from residents, who alleged that the administration was attempting to evict them without resolving their long-pending rehabilitation and compensation demands. Rama Chandra Bariha, a villager, said the displaced families were demanding rehabilitation and compensation under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. They also sought cancellation of the existing Section 11(1) land acquisition notification, a fresh survey of Kumiapali and land-for-land compensation for all affected families. “As long as our demands remain unfulfilled, we will not leave our ancestral village,” he said. The villagers said they had received information that district officials would visit Kumiapali July 21.
They said they would hand over all their government documents in protest and stop availing themselves of government welfare schemes. Declaring that they would rather die than leave their ancestral village, they warned that they would resist any attempt to force them out without addressing their demands. Officials, meanwhile, are racing against time as the Lower Suktel reservoir is expected to be filled to its full capacity this year. About 86 tribal families continue to live in Kumiapali even though a rehabilitation colony has already been developed at Kapilbahal for their relocation. With the reservoir’s water level steadily rising, officials fear the village could be cut off or submerged if heavy inflows continue. The administration is trying to relocate residents before floodwaters reach the settlement.
Despite the looming threat, villagers remain defiant, insisting that rehabilitation must precede evacuation. Sources said residents of Khuntapali and Tabalabanji villages, which are also affected by the project, would soon be asked to relocate. The authorities have also reportedly directed that electricity supply to the three villages be disconnected by July 21 as part of the evacuation process.
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