Joda: After a long hiatus, the construction work for the ambitious Kanpur irrigation project at Basudevpur under Joda block in Keonjhar district resumed amid tight security. The administration also imposed prohibitory orders under section 144 of CrPC at the project site. Collector N. Tirumala Nayak and SP Rajesh Pandit were present at the site when the work was restarted.
The work of the dam project, the second largest in the state, had been halted for the last 16 months due to protests from the project-affected people.
People of 16 affected villages had staged agitation March 17, 2016, and halted its construct ion work, seeking fulfillment of their 18 demands.
The district administration had failed to convince the agitating people even after several rounds of talks. Later, the administration had booked some oustees July 17, 2017 and imposed 144 at the project site.
The collector asserted that talks had been held with affected people. “The project bears much importance for the district and its work was resumed Friday,” he said.
On the other hand, Naresh Sitari, president of Kanpur Bistapita Core Committee, said, “We honour the rule of law. We have moved the High Court against the government. We will accept whatever decision the court makes in this regard.”
Twenty platoons of police were deployed at the site while four magistrates, seven DSPs, 13 inspectors, 23 sub-inspectors and 25 ASIs were also present.
The cost overrun of the project has escalated to Rs 2,300 crore due to intermittent delays. PNN
